Dragonend
by Nanoman94
Summary: When Dragons attack Skyrim, it's up to only the bravest warriors to defend thier land. Unfortunately, none of them showed up. But can a psychopathic warrior, a rouge of questionable sexual orientation, and a spellcasting noblewoman be enough to defeat Alduin? I guess only the Divines know for sure... Rated T for violence, gore, language, and sexual themes.
1. Cheating Death

(Note from the author: It's my time to put a spin on Skyrim. First off, I'm changing some names/genders around if it either suits me better or I don't quite recall the name. Anyway, here you'll follow the adventures of my original character, Dyce {pronounced DICE}. Since I'd refrain from describing him through another character's eyes, he's a Nord of average height, with green hair tousled up into a spiky style. He's rather brawny for his age, 21, and his eyes are a piercing ice-blue. Now, I'm also adding my own race into the Skyrim mix- the Avons. It's a race similar to the Khajiit and Argonian races, but is based off birds. Yes, they have wings. As for history, they've lived in Skyrim as long as the Nords have, and the two races are rather fond of each other. Now, I think I've wasted too much of your time now, so I'll take my leave and let you guys start reading. ~Nano)

Chapter 1  
Cheating Death

"Hey, prisoner, wake up. Soverngarde awaits." I hear the low, raspy voice of the guard say. My eyes dart open, and I sit up on the dusty floor of my cell- no cots or blankets in here. My clothes are but rags, and only a small rope line is holding them on. A thicker rope binds my hands behind me.

"Up, prisoner." He says. I rise to my bare feet, and follow his voice out of his cell. I'm led outside, to the place where the Imperials execute their criminals. I wasn't the only one here headed for the block. There were three others- A Nord, an Avon, and a Khajiit. The Avon had his beak bound shut. The cat was an odd color- he was black mostly, but had stripes on him to make him look a zebra.

A crowd had gathered to the place. Tch. Had the commoners have nothing better to do than watch the death of four prisoners? "First up is Ralof of Riverwood." The guard captain, Tidus, spoke. The Nord next to me walked up.

He muttered, "Imperials and their damn lists… they should sleep with the damn things."

"You have been charged with treason to the Empire, as well as the murder of half a platoon of Imperial men. How do you plead?"

"Guilty of all charges." Ralof said, spitting at Tidus's boots. He was planted at the block, the executioner raising his axe. "My ancestors are smiling upon me, Imperials. Can you say the same?" Nothing else was said as the axe swung down, cleaving his head and silencing the brave Nord.

"Next, you there…" Tidus said to me, pointing to me. I walked forward, standing in front of him. "I'm afraid we don't have your name. Now-"

"It's Dyce." I mutter.

"Well, then, Dyce. You are charged with the destruction of Falkreath, as well as seventy-three _confirmed_ counts of murder. How do you plead?"

I stood silent. The event that took place a week ago was already fading from my mind. A simple trading trip with my father gone horribly wrong. One minute, I was sitting on a bench, waiting for him to finish his purchases, the next I'm covered in blood, not my own, and holding a bent bronze sword in my hands. The details are blurry, but I'm sure I'd remember more, if I had longer to live.

"The accused stays silent and is therefore guilty of all charges." Tidus says. I'm forcefully pushed down on the block, and the blood from Ralof is still warm. I face the sky, pleading to the divines that I can find a safe haven in Soverngarde. I hear the call to lower the axe, and I brace myself for death's cold embrace…

…only, it does not come. Opening my eyes, I can see the executioner jumping in the air to try to catch his axe, which is hovering in mid air. "I swear, captain, I don't know what's going on!" he shouted. The crowd laughed.

"Just do your job, Dante." Tidus said. Just then, however, an explosion shattered part of the west wall. Soldiers, dressed in blue fabric tunics lined with fur, dove in. Nord and Avon alike are in their number, and their steel rings out for blood as the two sides clash. Avons on both sides took to the skies, fighting in the air above as the Nords clashed below.

One hand grabs me, and picks me up. "C'mon, Dyce, it's time to go." I hear. It belonged to an Avon, one with gray feathers and orange eyes to match his beak.

"As grateful as I am, why save me?" I ask as we ran, headed for a door that led underground.

"This rescue mission is because of two people here. There's of course, Ulfric Stormwing, the Avon who was next to you."

"And the other?"

"Well, he only ended up here because he was trying to get to you."

"So I'm being rescued because Ulfric Stormwing, leader of THE Stormwings, wanted to see me?"

The Avon and I hefted open the doors, and ducked inside, closing the barricades behind us. "Yeah, lucky you. The name's Owain, thanks for asking."

"Thanks for saving me. But now what?" I gestured to the barracks.

"Well, first we get you some weapons and armor." He rummaged through a few chests, pocketing coin and jewels where he could find them. I browsed a few weapon racks, and grabbed a steel longsword from its place on the wall. I strapped the belt it hung on to my waist, and found a pair of leather boots that served well for my feet.

"Here we are, this should fit." Owain said, tossing me a bundle of leather. I drop it to the ground. "What's wrong, allergic or something?"

"No, I just find armor cumbersome and restrictive. I'm fine in these rags for now." I said. I meant it, too. I'd rather my death not be because I was unable to swing my arms enough to block an attack.

"If you'd prefer to go almost as naked as a bar-wench, then I won't say anything."

"You just did," I joked, receiving a small laugh. "Now, let's get out of here, shall we?" I said, pointing to the hallways that led deeper into the prison.

"Indeed we shall, Dyce, my companion!" Owain said, drawing a wicked-looking mace from his hip. Together we started to walk, slowly and silently down the hallways. A few guards didn't notice us, but we had to kill a few.

"More guards. Six, if I counted correct." I said, ducking back behind a corner to Owain.

"Ha. No match for our skill, I'd wager." He scoffed. We turned the corner and charged. It was weird- when I swung my blade, my instincts took over- all I could feel was a bloodlust until our foes were dead. I blocked a swing with my blade, and jabbed outward, piercing a jugular.

Owain bashed a guard over his head with that mace, and the poor guy fell down into a puddle of his own blood and gray matter. I grabbed one of my nearby opponents and spun him around, smiling in delight when an arrow from his companion hit between his eyes. He was still living, so I used my hand to drive the arrow in further, silencing him.

My next kill was twofold, as I kicked one soldier to the ground, landing him on one Owain similarly dropped. I drove my sword down, piercing both hearts with one stab. Owain took out the archer in a less bloodthirsty manner, preferring to simply bash in the poor sod's back, cracking his spine.

I drove my sword in a little deeper, and I found myself liking the sound and feeling of my steel cutting flesh, muscle, and sinew. I eventually took my sword out, sliced the air to be rid of the blood, and sheathed it once more.

Owain was staring at me. "You know, I'm not one to judge, given I've taken more heads than I've received, but that was just disturbing." He bent down, searching through the bodies of the fallen.

"And that isn't?"

He hefted up a small coin purse, and dropped it into his own. "Hey, he won't be using it anymore." He said, stashing away more purses.

"Let's just go," I said, "The Imperials would have heard our battles by now." We headed down a tunnel, following a small stream out of the barracks. As I made my way down the caves, Owain poked through every small corner, adding what he could find to his coffers.

"Get down!" He somehow managed to yell in a whisper. "Bear, over yonder." Indeed, with a finger he pointed out the hulking beast. She lay down near a few corpses, and I could see Imperial cloth and bone stranded around. Her muzzle was stained with blood.

"Any way we can get past it?"

"No… neither do I have any bows… wait, stupid me, I keep forgetting I have these!" He flexed his wings, spreading out his feathers.

"I thought those were a part of you."

"Not the wings, what's in them." He said. Upon closer inspection, I could see several sharp, metallic points hidden within his feathers. "Wing-blades. They'll do the trick." He snapped his wings forward, and six of his blades flew towards the bear. They buried themselves in her neck, and she died before she could stand.

"Impressive."

Owain bowed. "Thank you." He retrieved his blades, fitting them in his wings again. "Now, let's skedaddle, shall we?" I nodded in agreement. We headed for the opening in the cave ahead, and the bright light hurt my eyes- being in a jail cell for several days could do that. Nonetheless, the light was inviting, and I walked through it to the beauty of Skyrim.

(A/N: and there you have it. I'll see you whenever I get around to updates, but for now, see ya! ~Nano)


	2. The Bard

(Note of Nano: So, an anon wanted to know a little more about the Avons. Here's a general summary: their wings are independent of arms, located on their backs. Their beaks are curved into a downward point, but still retain the ability to somehow smile, frown, etc. (magic?). Their flight is dependent on their stamina; it drains much slower than if you were running on land, but the stronger the Avon, the longer he/she can fly. Wingblades can only effectively be used by this race, but not every Avon can use them; you have to be specially trained, which takes years. Feather and eye colors range all throughout the rainbow, since birds in real life are the same. Hope that suffices, ~Nano)

Chapter 2  
The Bard

"Seeing Skyrim after being in a locked cell for several days is wonderful." I said, looking over to Owain. We had reached the surface of the land, and it was a good change from the caves, or worse yet, the Imperial camp. The cold stung my face, but it felt good nonetheless.

"Yessir. Now, we seem to be at a little crossroads, here." Owain said. He adjusted his armor, and wiped dirt off the Stormwing crest- a black wing on top of a thundercloud.

"How so?"

"Well, I know I saved your hide back there, but I'm not asking for anything in return. You can go on your merry way, even if you are a convicted felon. Or, you can come with me; I'm sure we can find a place where you can hide out."

I thought about Owain's offer. On one hand, it would be grand to be away from him- he's a little too carefree for my tastes. On the other hand, he saved my life, and it would be better if I traveled with someone who could do it again. "I'll travel with you, if you don't mind." I said.

"Excellent!" He exclaimed. "I know just the place to lie low for a bit, too." We started to walk down the path, headed for his destination of choice. That turned out to be Ivarstead, and I could see a multitude of Stormwing tents outside. He led me into the tavern of the town, and a sign outside says the Stormwings get free drinks. I should have known he'd take me here.

"Two meads, please." Owain said, as we sat down at the bar.

"And a few slices of bread for me, I haven't eaten well lately." I applied, only receiving an undignified grunt from the bartender, who was a burly Nord. I could probably take him in a fight if it came to that, but his muscle was prominent, and I wouldn't want to start anything.

Our food and drink came, and Owain and I ate in relative silence. He gave me my space, since I was wolfing down food faster than a Lycan and his prey. "Hello, the people and those called Stormwing!" A voice said from the entrance. It belonged to a Khajiit, one whom I recognized from the executioner's block, the zebra-like one. "My name is Xenos the Bard, and I would have you all hear me sing!"

He pulled a lute from a Bag of Holding. Or rather, a normal bag that has an enlargement charm placed on it- they're more common now than a few years ago. As he started to strum on the strings, he began to sing. His singing voice was different than that of a normal Khajiit rasp- he sounded better than many Nord bards.

"_We drink to our youth, and to days come and gone  
For the age of oppression is now nearly done  
We'll drive out the Empire from this land that we own  
With our blood and our steel we will take back our home!"_

It was a song that told of the Stormwing's major goal- a song to fit the audience, that's for sure. However, the Stormwing population was not impressed.

"Stop that racket, cat!"  
"Let us enjoy the quiet!"  
"You aren't a Stormwing, so shut up!"

"Your words, friends, they very much sting. Even if I tell you I consider myself a Stormwing!" Xenos cried out, retreating to the bar. He sat in the stool next to me, stowing his lute. "One small mug of mead, if you please. My journey has been very taxing on my knees." Indeed, he was rubbing his knees, trying to massage the pain out.

"We don't serve your kind here, cat." The bartender said.

I slid my untouched mead over to Xenos, who looked wide-eyed, but then greedily gulped down half of it. The bartender gave me an evil glare. "What? You may not serve him here, but that doesn't mean he can't drink." He scoffed, and picked up a glass and a rag to clean it with.

"Thank you, kind Nord. You must be a traveler, with your scars and your sword." Xenos said.

"Dyce is my name, Xenos. You should remember me; we were supposed to be put to death at the same time." I said, grabbing Owain's drink and taking a swig. The Avon had disappeared form the bar a few minutes ago.

"Ah, yes, such a grisly fate for us commoners. Did you escape so you could hide from your errs?"

"I haven't run to do that. I was rescued by my companion, Owain. He's…" I looked around the bar, searching for my feathered savior. I saw him over at another table, with a Nord girl in one arm and an Avon female in another. "…Occupied."

"As very well he should, my Nord friend. A man must live a little before his end. I, indeed myself, once had a night of fun with a Solitude elf." Xenos laughed, then drank the rest of the mead. "She was so kind, and looked rather frail. However, when I woke up, I found myself in Jail!"

"Who was she that got you on Tidus's death list?"

"..With her lips as moist as water… oh, sorry, Dyce. She was his daughter."

Tidus crossed with an elf? Well, the Thalmor and the Imperials are close… it wouldn't be too hard to imagine it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw several Stormwings drawing their weapons, looking straight at Xenos. I pointed this out to him.

"Oh, Dyce, thank you for warning me of my impending doom. I believe it's my time to exit the room." He got up, and running swiftly, he dodged a few swings in his direction as he made his exit.

"Dyce, you have to come with me." Owain said. He had materialized next to me, his face-feathers smeared with a little lipstick- probably from the Nord.

"What is it, Owain?"

"Those girls over there… they're Lotus and Aloe, and I have to say, they're all kinds of nice…" I stopped him right there.

"I'm not going to sleep with a bar-wench."

"Oh, c'mon, Dyce, Aloe has a thing for bad boys- you being a wanted felon and all would drive her through the roof!"

"I said no, Owain. Besides, it looks like they found someone else." Indeed, as Owain turned, he saw Lotus and Aloe sitting next to a large Orc in the same manner they were with him. He looked downtrodden. However, we rented a room for the night all the same, one with two beds. No girls accompanied us, to Owain's displeasure.

In the morning, the two of us left the tavern. "So, where to next, Dyce?"

I thought for a moment. "I want to go to Rorikstead, my home." He seemed a little shocked. "I want to go to my old house, my blacksmith's hut." Indeed, I was training to be a blacksmith. I may be handy with a blade, but I'd rather supply the real adventurers with their arms, not risk my own.

"Alright, friend." Owain said. We started our walk, Owain occasionally taking to the skies to rest his legs.

I wouldn't guess that this walk would start an adventure of my own.

(A/N: so, one more chappie down. The next will detail the other main character, a girl named Brae. Expect the next one to be from her perspective, so stay alert! ~Nano)


	3. The Prodigy

Chapter 3  
The Prodigy

"C'mon, Sortiara, wake up!" A voice called out to me. Opening my eyes, I was looking up into the eyes of my good friend Morgan, who was standing over me.

"Is it morning already..?" I asked, half asleep. I was up all last night studying, since the new term begins today. I sat up in bed, and looked over to my dorm's mirror. My violet hair looked horrendous.

Morgan was an Elvin mage of average height. His hair was a bright pink, and his eyes always radiating happiness from their blue color. He had a habit of going around Winterhold College's dorms and throwing parties, making sure everyone had fun to go with their studies. "Well? You of all people shouldn't be late on our first day!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah… I'm just going to get changed and ready for the day." I said, and waited. "Well…"

"Well, what? C'mon, the classes start soon!"

"I'm asking this as nicely as possible. Could you please GET OUT WHILE I CHANGE?" he realized what I meant that time, and quickly bolted for the door, closing it behind him. I laughed a little. As nice a kid as he is, he's a little too dense for his own good. I stood up, unfastening the knots on my nightgown.

As that slipped to the floor, I had already pulled out my robes for the day. Being a magi here at the school, our uniforms consist of a black cloak, with or without a hood. Mine didn't. However, since I was specializing in astronomy and defensive spells, I had two badges pinned to it- one in the shape of a star, the other as a shield. A red belt, my own touch, finished off the outfit nicely.

All the while, I had levitated a brush to my head, brushing it down into a more manageable state. That levitation spell is one I figured out in my first year alone- I've been using it ever since. I was in no rush to get to my classes, anyway. The first few days of a new term are always review, and I've already done this term's homework five months in advance. A vacation really does give a girl time.

I walked out of the dorm after all was said and done, and headed for the main classroom tower. The second floor held my class for today, and I stood in line next to Morgan and another friend of mine, Kellam. Kellam was an Imperial, like myself, and had dark black hair. His eyes were always squinted, so nobody really knew what color they were.

"Good morning, class." Archmage Cornello said as he walked down the stairs, headed for us. He was to be our teacher- and I couldn't be happier. He was my idol, and I wanted to be as great a magi as he is. His grey beard was trimmed up, only reaching his collarbone, and his silver hair was also trimmed to his shoulders. "Since I only had expected one of you to study over the break, today and tomorrow will be primarily review." I knew that was coming.

"So, I want each of you to grab a partner-" I was immediately grabbed by Morgan- "And work on wards, defensive spells. I must stress, no lethal magic, we don't want any of you hurt."

Morgan walked a few paces away from me, and I knew he wanted to attack first. I let him, as his hands shot out a small bolt of magical aura, his being pink. I raised one hand, and a barrier of my own purple aura blacked it, as well as two more thrown by him. I let that shield fall, and raised a hand behind me, blocking a stray bolt thrown by another student.

"Ah, everyone, you would do well to learn from Sortiara here. She not only has perfect control over her magicka, but also is aware that threats can come from all around you, not just in the front." I heard others calling me a 'teacher's pet,' but I didn't mind. I was the best here, and I would let that show from time to time.

As we practiced more, a knock came from the door. "Cornello, sir," came a voice. It was from a Nord messenger, complete with carrier bag. His hair was a dark gray, and he had strange yellow eyes. "A message from Solitude, for your eyes and ears only."

"Hmm… alright. Students, continue your practice until I get back." He said, following the messenger out. Of course, all the students stopped practicing as soon as he left, preferring to talk. I, however, sought out Kellam.

"Oh, Sortiara, what brings you over here?"

"Let's go and check out what Professor Cornello's message is." I whispered. He nodded in quiet agreement, and when nobody was looking, he cast his signature invisibility spell on the two of us, concealing us from sight. We carefully walked out of the room, avoiding contact with the other students.

"So, where is the message?" We heard out teacher say.

The messenger replied, "It's an oral one, sir. High Queen Erika wanted people to know about it without a chance a note could fall to those she didn't."

"Then deliver your message."

"Dawnstar and its people have been destroyed by a madman named Dyce. He has a known accomplice, an Avon by the name of Owain. They are both at large and should be approached with extreme caution." The messenger saluted and walked off.

Kellam had retreated back, but I stayed behind. As the Professor walked past me, I knew I had to ask him about this. And I had the perfect idea how.

Later, after class had been dismissed, I walked up to the Archmage's chamber, to inquire about my education. "Ah, Sortiara, my star pupil. What do you need?"

"I'd like to inquire if I could begin my extracurricular assignment. You know, since all students need to do one to graduate, and I have yet to start mine…"

"What would it be about?"

"Well, I'd like to figure out how Dawnstar was, well, destroyed." I said. I abandoned all cover that I had eavesdropped, since the school was told that much. "If powerful magics were involved, we could use them."

"All right. But you don't seem to be prepared to travel and find a wanted criminal like you plan to."

"Thank you, Professor, it- wait, how did you know about that part?"

"I know when two of my students, one being the prodigy of the school, are cloaked behind an invisibility spell. Anyway, I expect you'll be leaving within the hour?"

"Yes, sir!" I said, gleefully running out of the room. I headed into mine, and pulled out an old, dusty Bag of Holding, one decorated with three purple stars on a silver shield- my family crest. In it I put spare clothes, bottles of potions I've made, and a few books. I also packed blank volumes and quills and ink, to record my findings.

I decided to leave through the front gates to the college. At the stairs at the bottom, I turned and looked one last time at my school. I knew it would be a while before I returned, but I still walked on. My adventure awaits.

(A/N: Short compared to the other two, but I'm fine. So, now that the prologues are done, the main story can commence. See you all in about a month, when I get more chapters down. Bye! ~Nano)


	4. Remembrance

Chapter 4  
Remembrance

"Halt, travelers." A soldier says. We're stopped near the Black-Briar Meadery outside of Whiterun. "The road is closed due to the presence of the Thieves Guild. For your protection, and that of your valuables, we have closed off the roads to Riverwood and Rorikstead. As soon as the ruffians move on, we will reopen travel."

"C'mon, I LIVE in Rorikstead! You would separate a man from his home?" I said, slightly enraged.

"Sorry, kinsman, but it's Jarl Balgruf's direct orders. I cannot let you pass." He said, standing firm. The lance he held looked sharp indeed, and Owain was dragging me off before I could protest or draw my blade.

"Dyce, we can't afford to make them enemies of you. In fact, we can't afford for them to _recognize _you from the wanted posters." He said. "Besides, maybe we should go to Jarl Balgruf. If we can get on his good side, then maybe he'll let us through."

"Alright, Owain." I said, the two of us headed towards Whiterun's gates. The guards at the gates were suspicious, but let us in all the same. Once inside, I did appreciate the walls of the city- they did have a certain safety radiating from them, reassuring the people. The city itself seemed to be divided into two halves- a residential area and a shopping district.

"Hail, travelers!" A voice called out from our right. It belonged to a Nord woman, garbed in a heavy black apron worn by blacksmiths. "In need of fine weapons and armor?"

"Actually, I'm looking to sell." I said, an ingenious idea floating into my head.

"What do you plan on doing, friend?" Owain asked.

"Miss, I'd like to sell my sword here, for its seen better days, maybe you can use it as scrap or something." I said, holding out my steel blade. Her eyes widened.

"In Akatosh's name… that's Imperial steel, that is! And in damn good quality, too…" She muttered, looking at the blade. "And you're selling it for the metal?" I nodded. "Well, then, I'll give you an easy four-hundred gold. Who knows how much I can make for using this…"

I handed her my blade, and she gave me a generous sum of coin. In return (only for about thirty pieces) I bought a bronze longsword. Contrary to popular belief, bronze is better than steel- it's more flexible nature allows for it to absorb blows better, useful for a fighter who doesn't use a shield like myself.

"So what brings you two to town? The name's Sumia, by the way." She asked us, while using several tools to pry the Imperial steel from the hilt.

"Just passing through. We were headed to Riverwood, but the guards blocked off the path."

"Uh, 'we?' there's only one of you." I turned around, and Owain was nowhere to be found. My Avon friend was seen down the road after I squinted a little, offering a rose to a young Argonian woman. Okay, one question is- how'd he get down there so fast, and two- where did he get that rose from? It's the middle of Winter, for Talos's sake!

"He's occupied himself with a lost cause. Again." I said, wondering if this would become a habit of his. "Thanks anyway for your business, Sumia."

"No problem. Anyone willing to part with such quality steel is welcome to my store anytime!" She called out as I walked. I grabbed the back of Owain's tunic as I passed, dragging him along with me.

"But Dyce, she was getting used to me!"

"Or getting used to the idea of stabbing you, given her glare." I said. That's when it was Owain's turn to grab me, pulling me behind a house. "What was that for-"

"Shut up, Dyce- Imperials!" he hissed to me, peeking back around the house. Sure enough, a few Imperial soldiers were pulling along a jail cart. The sole prisoner inside was a woman, no older than myself, with long, brown hair. "Damn…"

"Anything we can do?" I said, noticing that Owain was still in his Stormwing uniform. He was already ahead of me, though, as he pulled a pair of handcuffs from his bag. "Where did you get those?"

"Took 'em off one of the guys keeping you prisoner. I have the key, too, here you go-" he said, giving me the key. He clamps the cuffs over his own wrists, behind his back. "This idea is crazy, but go with it, okay? You've captured me and are taking me to Dragonsreach."

Before I could say anything, he walked out, and I followed, bronze sword drawn. "Get over there, Stormwing scum!" I said, loud enough for the guards to hear.

"Hey, look at that, the commoner caught us a birdie, Hroki." The soldier to my left said.

"Yeah. How'd you manage that?" Hroki asked.

"He killed six Imperials, sirs. I was just passing by, but- I couldn't let his crimes go unpunished!" I said. It sounded convincing.

"Then where'd you get the cuffs, commoner?" They asked. Owain jumped in before I could speak.

"He took them off the officer I killed. Damn Nord then jumped me from behind and wrestled them on me." He said, in a gruff, bothered tone. He must have done this before.

"You've got stones, commoner. Do you need our help with him?"

"Uhh… no thanks, I can escort him to Dragonsreach myself. I've managed him this long." I said, turning out an alternate road to the prison.

The soldiers moved on, and Owain disappeared for a moment, while I was walking away. When he met up back with me, I undid the cuffs, and he held out a small, golden circlet.

"This was hers, and she's a very talented Stormwing mage. The others can use her aura on this to track her down and rescue her. It's sad that that's not the only thing they stole from her…"

"What else did they steal?" I asked.

Owain replied, "I found a pair of smallclothes, for a woman, in that bag too. They must have belonged to her."

Fury rose in my eyes. Taking someone prisoner because they are your enemy, that's one thing. But dishonoring a woman? Enemy or not, that is unforgivable. "Calm down, Dyce. There's nothing you can do. Let's just go to the Inn and spend the night resting, okay?"

I grunted in dissatisfaction. "…fine."

We walked into the inn, and rented a double-bed room. I fell asleep instantly, my dreams coming to me instantly.

_ Dawnstar. It's a town my father and I visited every other week, to trade for materials for the smithy. My mother decided to join us this time, to browse the food Dawnstar offered, so she could cook something else for a change. While they were off shopping, I found myself sitting on a bench, staring out at the sea. _

_ "Hey, you!" A young child says to me. He must be twelve. "Could you teach me to fight?" he asked._

_ "I don't know much about swordplay, young one. I make the swords, I don't use them often." I replied._

_ "You're a blacksmith? That's awesome!" he climbed up on the bench next to me. "Can you tell me what the best thing you made is?"_

_ "Well, my work doesn't come close to my father's, but I'm proud of the iron sword I crafted last week." I remember- it's hanging on the wall of my house._

_ "Do you think I could be a blacksmith?"_

_ "Maybe, if you put your body and mind to it. It takes a strong arm to swing that hammer." However, that's when things went downhill._

_ "WHAT IN OBLIVION IS THAT?" I heard a guard yell. He was followed by a loud thump, the screaming of people, and a roar in a language I didn't understand._

_ I turned around, only to see hell itself. A Dragon. __**"ZU'U DOVAH SAHLOKNIR! KRIF VOTH AHKRIN, BRONLE LOS DAANIK!" **__It said, its voice towering over everything else. It grabbed a guard in its jaws, tearing him in two._

_ "Run, little one!" I said to the boy, running to find my mother and father. The guards of the town fought the beast, but were not winning. _

_**"YOL TOOR SHUL!" **__The beast yelled. A gigantic fireball erupted from its jaws, sending homes and people alike ablaze. I frantically searched for my father and mother, and found the latter behind a grocery cart. Unmoving._

_ "Mother?" I asked out. I reached to touch her, but her body shifted from the wind of the dragon taking off. She fell forwards, and a large red stain was in her hair- her blood. My mother had died._

_ "TAKE THIS, HELLSPAWN!" my father shouted. I saw him charging down the beast with his signature blade, a glass greatsword. He swung it down, impaling the dragon's paw. Enraged, the dragon lifted up the trapped paw, freeing it by ripping it open. He slammed his claws down on my father, rending him into bits of gore in seconds._

_ "NO!" I yelled. All sense of safety, all sense of morality vanished. I ran towards the dragon, picking up a dead guard's shortsword._

_**"LOS TOL, DOVAHKIIN?" **__The dragon said. I didn't care as I stabbed the beast with the sword, right into its vulnerable underbelly. He roared with pain, and rolled onto his side in shock. I jumped on his underbelly, stabbing the sword into him numerous times, the iron sinking into the flesh and pulling out with a sickening slurping sound._

_ Finally, the beast stopped moving. The last few breaths were laced with the words, __**"DOVAHKIIN, LOS BALAAN HOKORON." **__I jumped down, the sword breaking in half from the scales and the effort it went through._

_ I stood on the ground, covered in blood. Imperial soldiers rushed in, looking at their surroundings. They grabbed me and pinned me, tying my wrists up and not asking questions. I blacked out…_

And woke up in a cold sweat. "Dyce, are you alright?" Owain said. He was awake next to me, and it seems he was shaking me to wake me up.

"Yeah…" I replied. Then I realized. "I remember everything that happened at Dawnstar."


	5. Pint-Sized Request

Chapter 5  
Pint-Sized Request

Dragonsreach. It's a towering structure, one with walls that rise over the town boundaries. Owain and I headed up there, the guards letting us pass after I told them I knew what happened at Dawnstar. They opened the large wooden doors that led into the building, and my Avon companion and I walked inside.

It's a nicely decorated place, with banners and tapestries hanging off the walls and a large fire pit in the center of the room, flanked by two tables. Beyond the fire pit was the Jarl's throne. "Halt, outsider. State your business." I heard. It came from a female Dark Elf; good-looking, armored, and armed.

"I have come with information on the destruction of Dawnstar." I said plainly.

"Well, that explains why the guards let you in. Come, the Jarl will want to speak with you personally." She said, taking us to the throne.

Owain and I knelt to respect the Jarl. It's good to have a good first impression. "So, you two know what happened at Dawnstar?" He said to us. We stood, and Owain couldn't keep his beak shut.

"Well, I don't, not really. But Dyce here does." That did it. He just said that a mass murderer was standing right in front of the Jarl. Nice going. I had every sword, lance, and bow in the place aimed at me in half a second. "Oh, yeah… wanted felon… right…"

"You have three seconds before you're dead, Dyce." The Jarl said.

"It wasn't me who destroyed Dawnstar. It was a Dragon." I said. Jarl Balgruf laughed.

"A Dragon? The beings of mere myth? That's you're plea?" He asked. The soldiers laughed.

"Myths don't burn down towns and kill families, Jarl Balgruf." I said. "I would not lie about this, hear me. My parents both died at Dawnstar at the hands of that beast."

"I'm listening." Balgruf said. The archers relaxed, and most of the guards sheathed their blades. I told him about the attack, from when I was sitting on the bench to when I was being dragged off by the Imperials. I told him how I saw my mother dead, and I saw my father rent in two. I told him how I drove a broken iron sword into the beast, and how I had slain it.

When I finished, The Jarl sat there, his head resting on his hands, thinking. When he spoke, he said, "I wasn't sure on whether or not to believe you, Dyce. But, I saw your emotions, I heard the tones of your voice. I do not, in fact, believe you to be the murderer the Imperial Army wants us to think you are."

His advisor stepped in. "Sir, do you really trust the words of a murderer?"

"I do not trust the words of any who kill another without just reason. However, Dyce here has not, and therefore I do trust him." He stood up from his throne. "My court mage, Ricken, will want to hear all about this. Come, Dyce, and… sorry, I didn't get your name…"

"It's Owain." The Avon said. He hesitantly followed, having to divert his attention from several of the servant boys and girls. Balgruf led us into a smaller room, and a young boy was seen in here. He wore blue robes and a pointed, wide-brimmed hat to match. His hair was a dark black, and his eyes were, oddly, dark red.

"Ricken, these gentlemen may be able to help you." Wait, _that's _Ricken? That little boy, no older than eight summers, is a court mage?

"Really?" the boy said. "Might I have your names? I'm Ricken."

"Owain. A pleasure to meet you, little boy." My friend said. I detected a slight chirp in his voice.

"I'm Dyce." I said. That got his attention.

"Oh, so you're the guy the Imperials are going on about?" this led us into a small discussion about exactly what happened at Dawnstar again, as well as random questions I was asked, like "how big was the dragon" or "how many teeth did it have".

"Alright, in order to completely understand what's going on here, I need something called a Dragonstone."

"Alright. Where is it?" I asked. More so to get away from the little guy, but also to go adventuring. That helps keep my bloodlust at bay, and this little kid is annoying.

"Bleak Falls Barrow. However, the Dragonstone is just rumored to be there. It may be in the first room, it may not even exist at all."

"And why is this so important?" Owain asked. For once I agreed.

"Because, if the Dragons have come back to Skyrim, then this stone is the only known record we have of them. It could provide invaluable information on how to best them."

"I thought you said it may not even exist." Owain said.

"Well… yes, I did, didn't I? Well, if it does, it would prove to be of great importance."

"But what if it-"

"Go to Bleak Falls Barrow, find the Dragonstone if it's there, and come back. That's it, right?" I said. I didn't want Owain to hurt his head or the kid. It could get him in the infirmary, jail, or both.

"Exactly. Now, if you excuse me, I need to continue my studies…" Ricken turned around to an alchemy table, a strange black crystal laid upon it. It didn't look like obsidian, but I have heard tales of black soul gems. However, I let the thought flee my mind as soon as it entered; it likely wouldn't be important.

Outside, Owain confronted me. "Why did you agree to that? Why do we have to go on some little kid's wild goose chase?"

"I'd lick that kid's boots, if it got me on good terms with the jarl. What we agreed to do pretty much cleared my name in Whiterun Hold." I said. "You, however, are a free bird. You can go on and do your own thing, if you want."

Owain stopped walking. I turned around, and I saw him stretching his wings. "You know, maybe I should stay with you." He said, folding them back up. "After all, someone needs to save your fugitive tail."

"And someone needs to keep your hormones in check."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Lotus and Aloe."

(A/N: Here begins the first quest in the main questline in Skyrim. If you're wondering why I made the court mage both 8 and named him Ricken, well, I won't tell you just yet. Bye for now, ~Nano)


	6. Thieves Guild

Chapter 6  
Thieves Guild

The mountains south of Winterhold are many things. They are equally beautiful, dangerous, majestic, and deadly. They are a symbol of consistency and strength.

And by the Divines, _freezing. _The College had always had enchanted fires to keep cold at bay, but the true measure of the chill had never been known to me. My wool cloak was not doing much to help either, the wind blowing through the roughly-stitched fabric. A bottle of blue fire hung from my belt, providing light and warmth for me. Slightly.

Eventually, I see a small collection of tents down in a small flatland part of the mountain, sheltered from the wind by rock. As I approached, the inhabitants of those tents were made clear- a bunch of people, from all races and ages, dressed in leather armor. A wood elf approaches me from the group. "Hello there, pretty lass. What's a sweet girl like you doing so far from home?"

"I'm headed for Dawnstar, fellow traveler." I said. A little too late, it sounded better in my head than out loud.

"Oh? Dawnstar's no place for a young girl like yourself, it's completely destroyed by now. All sorts of vicious creatures make their home there now." He said. He had a bow slung across his back, made of a material known as glass. Matching arrows were strung to his thigh.

"I'm no small lass, sir. I'm a mage from the College of Winterhold, and I believe I can take care of myself."

"A mage, well I'll be…" He said. "Listen, my associates and I were actually heading to the College to inquire if we could obtain some magical assistance. Could you help us instead?" He asked, a casual grin on his face.

"Well, I'm kind of in a hurry, so I think I'll-" Before I could move away, he grabbed my wrist, pulling me closer.

"You see, lass, we _really _need the help. So whether or not you do it willingly, you're coming with us." One of his associates, a Khajiit with brown fur, placed a cloth over my face. It was laced with sleeping draught- I tried not to breathe it in, but it was too late. My eyes drooped, and fell.

(Some Time Later)

I awoke to being bound by rope. I was in the back of a moving cart, and I could barely see from beneath the bags of… something placed on top of me. I could hear the gruff voices of guards, but we didn't stop; they must have let us through.

I relaxed. I calmed down. Focusing on the magical energies inside of me, I released a tiny spark of fire from my hands. It burned away at the rope, and soon I put out the flames by means of a simple water spell. I untied the rest of myself, and jumped out of the cart, running as fast as my legs could take me. I heard the shouts of my captors behind me, and I was scared.

I tried to cast a Clairvoyance spell, to find my way back on track to Dawnstar, but it failed. Divines damn my nasty habit of losing the ability of magic when I'm scared…

(Perspective switch- Owain, about half an hour prior.)

"Come on, Dyce, one more drink!" I whined. In a drunken stupor.

"Owain, no. we have a job to do, and I can't understand how you managed to get yourself so drunk off your second glass." He laughed. "Avons must be weak drinkers." He carried me out of the tavern, and pulled a small red vial out of his bag.

"Wazzat?" I asked.

"Just drink it, you idiot." Dyce said, uncapping it and pouring the contents into my mouth. It tasted like slaughterfish dipped in fermented Khajiit piss (not that I would know, heh) but I cleared my senses and bypassed the hangover state in one gulp. "It's a potion of cure disease. My father drank them when he was drunk before-" He stumbled. "Before Dawnstar."

"Well, it works, that much is certain. Now, with meal and mead in our bellies, we continue on our quest for the pint-sized wizard!" I led the way out of Whiterun, triumphantly walking with my chest held high. Several Nord females looked in my direction- as they should. I also caught the attention of several males, probably the mates of said females. I decided to hurry on out of there.

"So which way, O fearless leader?" I asked Dyce at the crossroads.

"I thought you were leading." He replied.

"You know the way to this place, not me. I led you out of Whiterun because, well… ah…"

"You wanted to impress the ladies, right?"

"And their male friends too, Dyce. But I also wanted to, ah… make sure the guards didn't arrest you."

"The birdie does have feelings!" He joked, taking the lead. We approached the guards that blocked our pass earlier, intending to get to Riverwood.

"Halt! I told you two already that this road is closed under order of Jarl Balgruf for the presence of the Thieves Guild." One of the guards said.

Dyce spoke for us. "We are under orders of Jarl Balgruf to travel to Bleak Falls Barrow and find something called a Dragonstone."

"I'm sorry, but the Jarl-"

"Has given us orders that go above your own." I said.

The guard scoffed. "And just why should we believe you, Stormwing? You only wish to destroy our homes with your ideals."

"Why you little-" Dyce grabbed my shoulders, holding me back as my fists swung out at him.

"Come on, Owain, let's just go. We'll circle around and travel through Helgen. It'll take days, but anything is better than nothing." We stalked away. On our way back, we saw a caravan, helmed by a wood elf. "Greetings, fellow travelers."

The elf nods his head. "Greetings."

"Where would you be heading? The roads to Rorikstead and Riverwood are closed." I said. Might as well inform them before they anger the guards.

"They are, are they? Well, we have certain… ways to bypass roadblocks."

I had an idea. "In that case, do you mind if we tag along? We'll cling to the bottom of your cart as you pass the guards. We'll pay you for the trouble." I took out a coin purse from my bag, and held it out.

"Your offer is tempting. And it is very much so. Climb under." He said, and Dyce and I did so. We overheard his conversation with the guards. "Good day, sirs."

"The road is-"

"Open, I believe. You can look the other way for just a single cart, can't you?" the wood elf said. We heard the clinking of a coin purse, as it was tossed over to the guards.

"Well, I guess this should suffice as proof you can handle yourself, yes. Go right on in." The cart rolled on, and Dyce and I looked at each other in triumph. That's when we heard a loud crash above us, and to our right saw a pair of feet run from the cart. Dyce and I rolled out, and turned to the wood elf.

"Who was that?" Dyce asked.

"That was a mage from the College of Winterhold. She agreed to help us, that's all. I'm afraid I'm going to have to give chase." The elf said, jumping down from the carriage.

Dyce drew his sword, and I followed suit with my mace. "I think she didn't volunteer. I think you just want her for her body, am I wrong?"

"Only half-wrong, but it seems I'll have to deal with you first." The elf said. He drew twin broadswords, both of them looking deadly enough. Dyce charged forward, diverting his attention as I took flight. I spread my wings out a little more than I should, preparing my wingblades.

Ah, my wingblades. Light enough to carry dozens on me, and strong enough to fell a man in a few blows. They're little more than oversized iron filings (made of steel…) sharpened to a point on both ends. With a simple flick of my wings, I sent one flying at the elf. It buried itself in his stomach, and Dyce pulled it out and stabbed the wingblade back in. I dove low with my mace, and with a moving blow to the head, the elf was no more.

I touched down next to Dyce, who wiped the elf's blood off his sword and my wingblade, handing the latter back to me. I tucked it back into my feathers, where it awaited its next use. "Let's go find that lass, Dyce." I said.

"Yeah. She can't have gone far, and I don't want her innocent hide killed by these ruffians." We went off in the direction she ran in, and soon found ourselves lost in the trees. A few moments passed before a sharp pain erupted in the back of my neck. I fell, and as I did, I turned around to see her holding an oversized tree branch.

Dyce approached her, arm out in greeting. The girl screamed, "Stay away from me, you, you-"

"Hey, we don't want to hurt you, we only want to make sure you're okay." Dyce said.

"I heard you talking to that monster, Connor. You hired him!"

"Yeah, to get past some guards, not to hurt you," I said standing up. "I'm Owain Stormwing, and this is my companion of sorts, Dyce. Might you grace us with your name, sweetheart?" that only earned me another swing, but I dodged that time.

She dropped the branch, obviously not used to attacking without magic. "I'm Sortiara. I'm the star student of the College of Winterhold." She seemed a little shocked when I said Dyce's name, but acted calm enough.

"Well, Sortiara," Dyce began, "Our journey takes us to Bleak Falls Barrow. You're a mage, right? Can you handle yourself back to Whiterun?"

She shook her head. "No, that bastard drugged me. I can't feel my aura at all, and I can't cast spells."

My head gets an idea. "Then why don't you come with us?"

"Why? I don't even know you." She said. I could tell it was a lie- she had heard about us, but Dyce didn't notice it.

"You're defenseless without your magic. However," Dyce approached her. "I am not a big fan of the kind of people that kidnapped you. I promise to personally protect you, at least until you get your magic back." Well, I'm not going to argue. A pretty little lass is going to follow us around? I could get used to that.

We avoided Riverwood as we climbed up the mountain trail, headed to the place Ricken marked on our map. Our little sweetheart walked behind us, a safe distance if we were jumped. "Hey, Owain," Dyce said, grabbing my attention. He pointed to a stone structure at the top of the mountain. "That must be the place. And it's crawling with Thieves."

"I agree. Shall we beat them at their own game?" I said. He nodded.

(Dyce's point of view)

I turned to Sortiara. "Stay here, stay out of sight. We'll signal when it's safe." She nodded, and hid behind a small rock, her cloak wrapped tightly around her. Owain approached the structure's left side, while I took the right. I climbed up a ruined portion of it, and came across a thief stationed as a guard- good thing he's asleep.

I drew my blade, and I saw Owain in a similar position on the other side. He held up three fingers, and put one down. When the second went down, I grabbed the thief's mouth, and plunged my sword through his throat. His scream was muffled by my hand, and to dispose of the body I pushed it off the side of the structure. Owain disposed of the other guard similarly.

I heard a sound, like someone stepping on a loose stone. It was Owain. "Hey, did you guys hear that?" heard from afar. Owain's bird-brain gave us away! I jumped out, surprising one of them as I slit his throat, and took half his neck off as well. That feeling never quite gets old.

There were five others. Three ran off, but I focused my attention on the other two. The guy on the left hefted a large sword, one as tall as him and made of sharpened steel. The woman on the left carried a spear, and knew how to use it. "Never should have come here!" The man yelled.

A flurry of sharp spikes rained down on them. Owain flung his wingblades down, distracting the male long enough for me to stab his heart, impaling it and driving the red organ out his back. He won't be living much longer. I left my sword in his corpse- it would take too long to get out before the girl stabbed me.

"Dyce, catch!" Owain yelled. He threw me his mace. I caught it in one hand, and swung it with two. I preferred swords, but this did nicely to block the girl's spear. I swung down when she jabbed next, hitting her weapon and shattering the wooden shaft in two, leaving her with a useless stick.

The mace found itself lodged in her chest a second later. Owain landed next to me, and I handed him his mace back as I retrieved my blade. "Well, that could have gone better." He said.

"Indeed it could have." A voice said behind us. The divines must really hate me. Standing behind me as I turned around was Imperial General Tidus, holding a knife to Sortiara's throat. "It took me a while to track you down, Dyce of Rorikstead."

"Let her go, Tidus. She has no part with this." I said. I motioned for Owain to sheathe his mace.

"After you surrender yourself, for the crimes you committed at Dawnstar."

"He's an innocent man!" Owain shouted.

"Of course, I'll have to kill you too, Stormwing. Your allegiance makes you the sworn enemy of the Empire." Tidus held the blade closer to the scared girl's neck, and a few drops of blood were drawn.

"Alright." I said. I threw down my sword, and knelt down. "Let her go. I surrender." I would risk my neck to save this girl- I may be ruthless when it comes to battle, but I do have a set of morals, and one of them is to never break a promise. I promised I would protect her, and I'll keep that one.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Tidus said, releasing Sortiara. She ran a few paces away, clutching her throat in pain.

(Sortiara's POV once more)

My neck stung. Nothing a little healing magic couldn't fix- too bad the drugs were still in effect. I watched as General Tidus approached Dyce, and I had mixed feelings about this. On one hand, he destroyed Dawnstar and he deserves this punishment. On the other, he saved my life.

"Hey, you guys. Yeah, I believe you are the ones who killed Connor." Voices said above us. More Thieves guild members, about a dozen, were stationed on the mountain ridge above us. Six of them were armed with crossbows, while the others drew blades and approached us. "We're gonna have to take more than your gold now."

"Over my dead body." Owain said, drawing his mace. Tidus helped Dyce to his feet.

"I may rethink your execution if you can fight." Dyce lunged for his blade, and all hell broke loose. The archers fired their crossbows, and the ones on the ground engaged them personally. I stood against a wall, and to my horror, two of them approached me.

I can't move. I can't talk, frozen by fear. Why can't I scream for help? Why can't I… wait, the drug… I can feel my magic… that's right, all I have to do is scream…

(Dyce's point of view, last perspective switch this chapter. I promise.)

I was about to slice open the chest of a Khajiit when I had to clamp my hands over my ears. A bloodcurdling scream pierced the clang of battle, and everyone stopped to look what was causing it. It was Sortiara, screaming her lungs off. And floating in mid-air.

"What in Oblivion is the wench doing?" One of the thieves near her said. He was barley heard.

However, she stopped screaming. We all just stood in silence as she floated in mid-air, her eyes glowing white and as eerie as the crypt we stand upon. "Well, don't just stand there, kill her!" The Khajiit said. One of them swung his sword at her, but it bounced off an invisible shield- ward, if I can remember what little I know of magics.

That's when Sortiara's body started to crackle with electricity, her body overflowing with magical energy. Lightning shot out from her, electrifying a thief. More of this followed, and I could feel the energy radiating off her growing in strength.

Owain grabbed me and threw me to the ground, landing next to me. "She's gonna blow!" he screamed, when a powerful blast of magical energy shot out from the girl. It knocked everyone off the ground, including Owain and I. We lost consciousness when we slammed against the far wall, and Sortiara fell to the ground after her outburst.

(A/N: this is easily the longest chapter I've ever written for a fanfiction. Expect it to become the normal size of chapters, at least for this story. See you all next time, ~Nano)


	7. Awakening

(A/N: for those of you who have read this story before this chapter, I have made a character change. Brae's name is now Sortiara. Why? Because Brae just doesn't sound quite right to me as a mage's name, and sounds more like a guy's name to me the more I say it. The new name was also inspired by a very powerful female mage. The name has been switched in my previous chapters as well. Thanks, ~Nano)

Chapter 7  
Awakening

I was the first to come to after my outburst of magic. I spotted Owain and Dyce in the snow nearby, the white powder spotted with red. "Oh, by the Divines, don't be dead…" I whispered as I ran over to them, shaking Dyce's body.

To my relief, he opened his eyes. "My head… warn us next time you're going to do that, okay?" Owain shifted next to us.

"Yeah, sweetheart… you nearly caused the end of the both of us." He moaned. "You wouldn't happen to know some healing magic, would you?"

"Y-Yes, of course…" I said. The drug that Connor got me with may be on its way out of my system, but I'm still limited to the most basic of spells. I quickly sealed up Dyce and Owain's wounds with that basic magic. "I've only sealed up the top layer of skin, I haven't recovered enough for anything too advanced."

"That's fine, Sortiara. It feels tons better already." Dyce said. He stood up, as did Owain, and they started checking the bodies littered around the ruins.

"What are you doing? You're disrespecting the dead!" I yelled.

"Sweetheart, they're not going to use it anymore, and they tried to kill us. Think of it as… compensation, for trying to kill us." Owain said, taking a crossbow from one of the thieves guild members, as well as a helping of bolts. He also took any coin purses they had on them.

"Hey, this guy's still alive," Dyce said. He was hovering over the body of General Tidus, who was breathing. "What should we do?"

"Let's leave him. He tried to kill us, but I don't want my hands any bloodier. At this rate my poor feathers will turn red." Owain whined.

I couldn't believe the heartlessness of these two. They're just going to leave someone hurt in the snow? And what about those bodies they killed- wait, no… I killed them…

_ I killed them._

The words rung in my head. I killed these people. Sure, they were going to kill me, but… "I feel sick…"

"Here, sweetheart, let me carry you, then." Owain said. "No sense in having you fall behind as we go into the crypt."

"You're going into Bleak Falls Barrow? What sort of madmen-"

"We are the sort of madmen to do this, I guess. Right, Owain?" Dyce said. They both laughed. I declined Owain's offer, and followed them as we entered the burial grounds. Inside it was dark, warm, and it smelt of death.

"Sweetheart, do you have any spells to make light?" Owain asked.

I shook my head. "I haven't recovered enough to use them." I spotted some unlit torches piled in a corner of the room. "But I can light those."

Owain and Dyce both grabbed torches, and I lit them with a fire spell- it's so basic that my magicka reserves didn't drop at all. They led the way into the crypt, and I knew I'd have to ask Dyce about Dawnstar sometime. But not now.

(POV change- Dyce)

It's a crypt. It's dark, dreary, large, and full of dead people. My kind of place. The hallways were getting narrower, and I could have sworn I saw some of the corpses moving slightly. Trick of the light, I guess.

"So, what exactly are you two here for?" Sortiara asked.

"We're here to track down the legendary Dragonstone for an eight-year-old." Owain responded.

"Why does he need it?"

I answered this time. "Because the dragons are returning to Skyrim. It could give us invaluable knowledge to use."

"Wait, did you just say dragons?"

"Yeah, one of them killed my parents and the rest of Dawnstar. I was there." I said. Sortiara stayed quiet. She obviously was thinking about her newfound info. However, I heard something.

"Help! Is anyone over there? Help!" I heard a voice. Male, probably in his late twenties. I drew my blade, taking caution. I turned a corner, to see a wide-open room, covered with spider webs. A nord was trapped in the webbing on the far side of the room. "You there! Quick, help a kinsman out!"

His armor wasn't the same as the thugs outside, so I decided to help the poor guy out. However, when I started to move across the room, a frostbite spider fell from the ceiling. This one was gigantic- I could fit five of myself inside. "Sortiara, get back!" I said, the mage retreating into the previous room. "Owain, I need you to-"

"Sorry, Dyce!" I heard the Avon call. Turning around, I saw him hiding behind Sortiara. "Spiders _really _freak me out."

"Owain, don't be such a chicken." I said. I turned and slashed outward, severing the bottom half of a leg. The spider cried out in pain, and advanced with godly speed, its pincers snapping in anticipation. I could see the venom dripping down onto the ground.

I turned and ran towards the wall, using my momentum to jump off of it and onto the back of the beast. The carapace was hard and hairy, and getting a grip was difficult as it tried to shake me off. My sword flew out of my hand, landing on the floor and clattering next to Sortiara.

"Dyce, catch!" she shouted, hurling the blade back at me. Point first. I had to duck to the side to avoid being decapitated. "Sorry!"

As it flew past, I grabbed the hilt, and swung down, into the creature's neck. To one side went its head, and the body fell, twitching. Owain and Sortiara ran over to me, and helped me up. "Sorry, man, it's just… too many legs…" the bird-brain said.

"That's all fine and dandy, but could you help me down now?" The trapped man said. "I'll tell you anything you want to know- the golden claw, how it works, anything!"

"Golden claw?" I asked.

"Yes, the secret to this whole place! It's in my bag. Just cut me down and I'll tell you everything." Owain handed me one of his wingblades, it being easier to manuver around the man than my sword. I cut him down, and helped him up.

"Thanks, kinsman. Now, about the golden-" He turned and sprinted deeper into the ruins, and we gave chase.

"Owain, fly after him!" I shouted.

"No can do, Dyce. The air's too still in here for flight, couldn't take off if I wanted to." He shouted back. He did chuck a wingblade at the nord, but missed. Our target rounded a corner before we did, then came running back.

"Draugr!" he shouted. A few arrows pierced my vision, and lodged themselves in his back. The man slumped to the ground, dead. Owain walked to his corpse.

"This must be that claw he was talking about." He held up a sculpture of gold, indeed in the shape of a dragon's claw. "However, he shouted 'draugr'. What are those?"

Sortiara spoke for the first time in a while. "Draugr are the reanimated corpses of long-dead. they haunt burial grounds, mostly." We looked at her, confused. "What? I've read all about them at the college."

"Any weaknesses?" I asked, hearing shuffling footsteps and low growls.

"Mostly fire and any blows to their skulls." She responded. "I haven't the strength for many spells, but I'll help if I can." I saw her conjure up a fireball in one hand, and she threw it at the corner. It hit a corpse as it was entering our field of vision.

A Draugr has no intimidation next to a dragon. But a horde of them, in a tight, narrow space, well… that's unsettling. Owain chirped nearby, and drew his mace. We charged the walking dead, and I was surprised by their frailty. One swift swipe across the chest was all it took for most of them, some requiring two. Owain bashed skulls in, and we charged through the horde in no time, finding respite in a chamber at the end of the hall.

"I have officially seen it all." Owain said. "I've seen mountains, goats, plains, what an argonian's loins look like… and now walking corpses."

"Yeah. Let's hope Ricken's tablet is actually here, too." I said. We headed down a small spiral staircase, down deeper into the crypt. Owain and I led, weapons drawn and creeping along quietly.

"We don't want to alert those things." He said.

"Yeah, so stay quiet. I don't fancy fighting-" I was cut off from a female scream and a small explosion.

"Sweetheart, what did we just say- oh, my." Owain said. Sortiara was on the ground, clutching her leg. Near her was a charred, unidentifiable corpse.

"Damn skeever… bit my leg…" she panted. I took a look at the wound. That skeever was definitely sick, and the wound showed it.

"Here, drink this." I said, handing her a healing potion. "I don't have any potions that cure disease, since Owain here drunk the last one in Whiterun."

"Not my fault…" he muttered. We trekked on through the crypt, fighting minimal draugr until we reached a long hallway. "What do you suppose this is?"

"No idea, my books never mentioned anything about this text…" Sortiara said. She was limping harder, her injured leg definitely getting more and more infected.

I looked around, and saw some writing. "Hey, look at this…" I said. "It reads, _welcome, those who slay Dovah._ Wonder what that means."

"I don't know what you're talking about, mate." Owain said. "All I see is chicken scratch." I looked back at the wall, and noticed that the words were indeed, just scratches in the wall. But I could read them a second ago!

"Never mind that, I found this!" Sortiara called. She was standing in front of a carving of some sort. "I've read about these, at least. They're ancient Nordic puzzle doors! But, they're impossible to solve without the corresponding key…"

I looked all over that carving, or door, as it apparently is. "Hey, Owain, hand me the golden claw." I said, noticing three notch marks. I pushed the claw near it, and the grooves matched up with the talons on the claw. I pushed it in and turned the dial.

Arrows flew out from the side walls, and I barely made it down fast enough, dragging my companions with me. "That was too close," Owain said.

"Let me see the claw." Sortiara said. I handed her the object, letting her think about it.

(Our injured mage's point of view)

This door had three symbols on it. The claw also had three, on its palm. However, they were different ones. So let's make them the same. "Dyce, could you rotate the top section of the door?" I asked.

"They can rotate?" He asked. He tried it, and the stone slid past to reveal another animal symbol- bear, like on the claw. I had him rotate the other two sections to match the claw as well. When we were done, I approached the door once more.

"Let's try it now." Dyce grabbed the back of my robes. He apparently wanted to make sure I could get down quick enough if the arrows flew out again. Owain was already on the ground. I pushed the claw into the grooves, and the door rotated, slid down, and opened up a path.

Owain stood up and grabbed me into a hug. "Sweetheart, that was brilliant."

"Uhh, thanks… Ow! Watch the leg!"

"Sorry." We walked forward, or in my case, limped forward. We found ourselves in a cavern, a bigger one. Water flowed through it, and a large, stone casket stood on a ledge. We walked up to it, and found a large chest.

"Don't mind if I do." Owain said. He got out a few lock picks, and hacked away at the chest until it popped open. Inside was a sack of gold, a map, and a few potions. I quickly recognized a cure disease one, and chugged it down. I hated the taste (like rotting meat) but my leg felt better almost instantly.

"What's this?" Dyce asked. He held up a stone tablet, shaped like a pentagon.

I saw more lines etched into it, like those Dyce pointed out earlier. "Looks like your dragonstone. I see one carved into it, at any rate."

"Wait, what does it say here? hoaardokes ske paarth yokanok…" he, all of a sudden, was transfixed by the tablet, staring at it, and muttering words in an incomprehensible tongue.

"What the hell are you reading?" Owain shouted. He then called out, "Oh, hey general." I turned my gaze, and General Tidus was walking in the room, greatsword in hand.

"I've been following you all for hours now, and I'm finally going to kill you." He said, readying himself. That's when the Draugr happened. They came out of everywhere- the ground, the ceiling, the walls. There were so many of them, and the general immediately stood next to us like we were allies.

"Any plans?" Owain said as we started to attack outward. It was no use, though- for every draugr we killed, five crawled out of the walls.

Dyce wasn't helping, either. He was behind us, still muttering away. "_Tar'okim vas ork'la heka maar aartu detu tenosaara moe'mo glisnok ko'ora ro kaan tre'yark hoaardokes ske paarth yokanok esko beth'roas thaan tu shal'kan forkestal stratos!"_

"What the _fuck_ is wrong with him?" Tidus asked, slicing the head off a draugr. "He's possessed!"

"I have no idea!" I shouted, casting a thunder spell. It was all I could muster- the drug was out of my system, but the poison from the skeever acted like it. Owain bashed in a few more skulls with his mace before the head snapped off the handle.

"Well, shit." He said. The three of us backed up, Dyce behind us. "What a way to go, killed by a horde of zombies."

"Yeah. I'd say it was a pleasure to know you, but it really wasn't." Tidus said. We braced for their claws to hit us…

But instead felt something fall in front of us. It was Dyce, his eyes glowing a harsh gold color. "FUS RO DAH!" he shouted, a large wave of sound emanating from his mouth. The wind blew back the hordes, most dying from hitting the walls too hard or getting impaled on stalactites.

"What. The. Hell." Owain said. "What did you just do, Dyce?"

"I have no clue, my friend. But we have the dragonstone, let's get out of here." Dyce said. He grabbed me and slung me over his shoulder, carrying me faster than I could limp. I was looking behind us, the remnants of the horde chasing after us.

"Uhh, Dyce, could you speed up a little?" I asked.

"Working on it, Sortiara." We ran through some narrow passageways, and I saw some loose rocks near the ceiling. I obtained an idea that would save us or kill us.

"Dyce, stop for a second!" I shouted.

"Are you mad, woman?"

"Just do it!" He halted, and I fired a concentrated bolt of fire at the loose rocks. They crumbled down, blocking our pursuers. A few of them were unfortunate enough to get in the way, and their bones crumbled to dust after their expiration.

"Sweetheart, you've saved us again. At this rate, it'll take more than just a trip to the tavern to repay you." Owain said.

"Yeah… but… that drained me… I need to… need to rest…" I panted. The venom was taking its toll on me. I passed out, slung over Dyce's shoulder.

I woke up to the night sky. A small campfire was made, and Dyce and Owain were talking to each other over a map. I sat up, finding my leg bandaged. "What happened?" I asked.

Owain began, "Well, after you passed out, sweetheart, Tidus ran for it. He had no idea what the hell Dyce did-"

"I still don't myself," the man in question said.

"Well, he dropped his bag. A few more cure disease potions were in it, as well as a few other things. We gave you two of those potions, and the others went into my bag."

"Thanks, I feel much better." My magic had returned to me in full, that I knew by instinct. "What will you two do now?"

"We're heading back to Whiterun, in the morning." Dyce said. "We have a stone tablet to deliver, and I need to talk to Ricken about what happened to me. Young as he is, he's still quite smart."

"Do you mind if I tag along?" I asked. I only asked this because Dyce knew what happened at Dawnstar- the whole reason I left the college in the first place.

"Well, of course not, sweetheart! We weren't expecting it, but we'd be glad to have you!" Owain said.

"For now, though, rest up. We leave at first light." Dyce finished. I nodded, and laid back down. In a few moments, my eyes were shut.


	8. Dovahkiin

Chapter 8  
Dovahkiin

We had made it back to Whiterun. The journey was made easier by Sortiara's leg not being injured, and Owain only cracking two or three jokes. We were headed up to Dragonsreach, to deliver Ricken's stone.

"Sweetheart, we've gotten you back to town. You don't have to keep following us, although I don't mind." Owain said as we climbed the steps.

"You two saved my life and took care of me while I was both drugged and poisoned. For that, I owe you my life, and I plan on repaying that debt." Sortiara replied. I'm not sure if that was the truth- or at least, the full truth. However, we had a meeting with a certain pipsqueak wizard.

"Dyce, Owain, you've returned! Were you successful?" Ricken asked us when we entered his small office. Sortiara stayed in the back.

"Yeah," I replied, handing him the Dragonstone. "However, something… peculiar happened when I held that thing."

"Like what?" He immediately asked. Owain responded in my stead.

"He started to talk, or chant, in this odd language. Next thing we knew, he performed this spell that completely wiped out a draugr army." He chirped a little, and grabbed a sweet roll from the table. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all. Now, Dyce, tell me everything." Ricken inquired, placing the Dragonstone on a table. However, I barely got to the giant frostbite spider before a familiar voice rang out in the main hall.

"I need your ear, my Jarl! And you as well, fair Housecarl!" I looked into the main hall, and none other than the bard Xenos was running in. His hood was down, and his lute was strung across his back, missing a string.

"Khajiit, you'd better have a good reason to disturb the peace of Dragonsreach." Jarl Balgruf said, a slight hint of anger in his voice.

"A Dragon, milord, flying in the skies! I've seen it with me own two eyes!" He panted. The Jarl looked at him in disbelief.

I approached the scene. "My lord Jarl, if he speaks the truth, I will fight. A dragon took the lives of my parents. It's only right I exact my revenge."

"We still don't know if he does speak the truth." Balgruf said. A thundering noise, a roar, shook the building. Something landed on the roof, and a window burst open. Through the window, a large, green-scaled dragon head could be seen.

**"I have found you, Dovahkiin! Now face the wrath of Sahloknir!" **It shouted. A burst of flame entered the room, and I dove forward, grabbing both the Jarl and Xenos and dragging them under a table for cover. The flames passed, and the dragon took to the skies once more.

"What in the Divine's names…" Jarl Balgruf said.

"I'll handle this, Jarl. This fight just became personal." I replied, thinking back to what happened at Dawnstar. That dragon also said his name was Sahloknir. But I killed him… did I?

"We'll come along as well." Sortiara said, dragging Owain along. "He's your companion and I owe you a debt. Plus, with my magic at full strength again, I can help you even more so."

"I appreciate the help. Thank you, friends." I said, drawing my bronze blade and charging out through the door. Owain took to the skies, trying to fight the beast at his own game. Sortiara prepped spells in her hands, ready to fight. The town guard was already in panic, some fighting, others fleeing.

"Owain, use your wingblades, cut some holes in those damn wings!" I shouted. The Avon saluted, and flew up higher. The dragon paid him no notice as it burned down a few homes. I called out to the dragon. "Over here, you ugly beast!"

**"Dovahkiin, you will learn to hold your tongue on such petty insults. I will not be beaten again!" **The dragon shouted, spewing fire at me. The flames passed over an invisible barrier, and I turned to see Sortiara casting a ward on me.

"Again…?" I said to myself. Then I realized- the scales, the face, the glowing red eyes… this was the same dragon that was at Dawnstar! But how did he survive? I pierced his heart!

"Dyce, look out!" Owain said, flying by to grab my arm. He dragged me out of the way of the dragon's tail-swipe just in time, my leg the only thing grazed. A minor wound at best.

"Thanks, Owain." I turned to the dragon, and charged it when it landed on a house. The wreckage provided enough footwork to jump up and onto the creature's back.

**"Get off!" **He shouted, taking to the skies. Owain flew nearby, swinging out with his wingblades and mace. The dragon batted him away like a fly, and he went tumbling to the ground below.

"OWAIN!" I looked out at my friend, and saw him land on a bale of hay. I couldn't be too focused on him, though, as I climbed the dragon's back towards the beast's head.

**"You will die here, Dovahkiin. Let Alduin's reign begin anew!" **The dragon said, its voice loud enough to cause pain. I stabbed my blade into his back, relishing in the red liquor that flowed from the wound. Sahloknir rolled in mid-air, knocking me off and leaving my sword lodged in his back.

"Shit, shit, shit!" I screamed, falling. I braced myself for the impact, but it never came. I opened my eyes, to see I was covered in a purple aura of magic.

"Got you! You're not dying before I can repay you!" Sortiara called out, her hands also coated in the aura. She lowered me down to the ground safely, and released the spell. "You alright?"

"More or less. Is Owain okay?"

"The town guard took him into Dragonsreach. One of his wings is broken."

I growled. "That dragon is already dead. Throw me."

"Throw you? With my magic?"

"Yes, Sortiara. Do it!" I yelled at the girl. She was a little afraid, but picked me up in her aura all the same. She aimed me at Sahloknir, and hurled me away at him. Her aura left me as I flew, and I prepped my voice. I said something strnage in Bleak Falls Barrow- if I duplicate it…

**"YOL TOOR SHUL!" **he shouted.

"FUS RO DAH!" I shouted in return. My voice's wave of pure force knocked aside the flames and stunned the beast in front of me. As I flew past, I grabbed onto my sword, still lodged in the beast's neck. The force of my flight caused me to drag the blade through his flesh, cutting a three foot gap in his back. Taking the bronze out of the scales, I jumped to the creature's head, and pointed it down.

That's when the dragon did something unexpected. He stopped fighting. He just hovered in mid-air, and spoke. **"You are a worthy opponent, Dovahkiin. Dragonborn. I admit defeat by your hand."**

"I'm what? No, I was birthed to Nord parents, not your kind!"

**"That is true. But your Thu'um, your voice, is strong. You have the lineage of Dovah in you, that is certain."**

I thought about it for a bit, but it made little sense to me. "I will ponder this. Any last words or requests, Drag- Sahloknir?" I didn't mean to call him by his species' name. I felt, if he and I were kin by blood, I should call him by name.

**"Only one request. Tell me your name, so I may die knowing who will break the cycle."**

"My name is Dyce. Goodbye, Sahloknir." Without further word, I drove my sword through his skull, and felt it give way to brain. The dragon died on the wing, which is a honorable death according to many Avons. His carcass fell to the ground, taking me with it.

(POV switch- Sortiara)

Dyce had made it to the beast's head, and I could see him talking to the dragon. I couldn't understand what they were saying, though- it was in some sort of odd language. A few minutes passed, and Dyce stabbed the beast's head at last. It fell to the ground, skidding along the road as it came to a stop a few feet from me.

Dyce jumped down, sword in hand. "If it's not dead now, it can't be killed."

"Dyce, look…" I said, pointing to the dragon. Its scales had begun to burn, and a harsh golden glow emanated from them as they peeled off the dragon, leaving it as nothing more than a skeleton. The golden light flowed towards us, and impacted Dyce's body. He absorbed it, and his eyes flashed gold for a second before resuming their normal icy blue hue.

"By the gods… he's Dragonborn!" A guard shouted. "Just like Tiber Septim and the heroes of old!"

"Dragonborn?"

"Is he dangerous?"

"He's a living legend! Someone get a bard!" As if on cue, to that last statement, a Khajiit appeared, black and white in color. He pulled out a lute with a missing string, and began to compose a song.

"Hey, you guys didn't have to end the party just because I'm not here!" I heard. It was Owain- the Avon had one wing in a sling to heal as he bounded over and grabbed Dyce and I into a hug. "All's well that ends well, I guess. How about we head on over to the tavern to celebrate?"

(Several hours later, Owain's POV)

I was drunk. So drunk that I knew I was drunk. Same with Dyce. Apparently, being friends with a dragon slayer who apparently is a legendary Dragonborn gets you free drinks. Even Sortiara took a few, even though she's not of drinking age. Hey, I'm barely that age myself, but at least I don't vomit after one sip. Anymore.

"Everyone, may I have your ears? The song of Dyce Dragonslayer, for you to hear!" Xenos said. I grabbed my drink, turned Dyce around, and we listened to the melody.

"_Dyce Dragonborn, by his honor is sworn,  
To keep foul creatures at bay!  
And the fiercest foes rout when they hear triumph's shout,  
Dragonborn, for your blessing we pray!_

"_Hearken now, sons of snow, to an age, long ago,  
And the tale, often told, of the one-  
Who was kin to both wyrm, and the races of man,  
With a power to rival the sun!_

"_And the voice, he had found, in that glorious town,  
When gentle Whiterun shuddered with fear!  
Mighty Thu'um, like a blade, cut through armored hide,  
As Dyce Dragonborn's roar did the foul wyrm hear!_

"_Dyce Dragonborn, by his honor is sworn,  
To keep evil forever at bay!  
And the fiercest foes rout when they hear triumph's shout,  
Dragonborn, for your blessing we pray!"_

The song was good. What surprised me is that everyone in the tavern applauded at the end- no Khajiit bard in living memory can say that much while in Skyrim. He bowed. "Thank you, dear friends. But I'm afraid my time with you is at an end." A general sound of displeasure filled the room. "Well, I couldn't leave you all feeling so sore. So, how about an encore?"

We laughed and drank. "This drink… I like it." Dyce said after trying my favorite, Black-Briar Mead mixed with juniper berries and mint. "Another!"

"Coming right up, Dragonborn." The bartender said with a smile on her face.

"You know, you two," Dyce said, grabbing Sortiara and myself into a hug. "I think killing dragons is what I'm meant to do here into his world. Screw blacksmithing! I'm a dragon slayer!"

"Yeah, but if it weren't for us, you'd be dead." Sortiara said.

"That's why I'm inviting the two of you to join me. We'll make our own guild, and go kill dragons and help those who need it."

"I like the idea." I said. Sortiara agreed. "But we need a name."

"Dragonend!" Sortiara spat out. "Because, well, we're going to be the end to dragons and all…"

"I like it. Dragonend it is!"

"I'm all in as well," I said, grabbing my friends' hands to confirm our pact. "However, Dyce, I'm going to rent a room for the night, rent your own, I plan on having company." I said, handing the bartender a coin purse. "Sorry, but I'm too drunk to focus on our guild right now- let's grab some supplies for it or somehting in the morning." I grabbed a young girl and boy, and shut the door behind me to the room.

(The morning, Dyce POV. Last switch for the chapter.)

By the divines, my head. A hangover is never a good thing- so much so after I found out I had dragon blood. Apparently, absorbing the dragon's soul made me more… part dragon. And alcohol does not agree with dragons. Sortiara woke up in the second bed in the room, and asked me to leave so she could change. I had to fetch Owain anyway.

I opened his room, to see him sleeping in the embrace of a girl and boy. It took me half a second to realize the three were nude. I shook Owain's body, and motioned to him it was time to go. I met up with him and Sortiara outside. "I was at least hoping to tell those two I enjoyed their company."

"Up to your old bastardly deeds, Owain?" A voice said. It belonged to an Avon, one with white feathers, except for his head- those were a golden brown. His eyes were a pale green, and he wore fine robes. Owain dropped to one knee.

"Jarl Ulfric! What are you doing here?" he squawked.

"I had heard of a dragon attack, and simply wanted to see if Jarl Balgruf needed my help." He nodded in my direction. "And you must be Dyce Dragonborn, the one who had slain the beast. The honor is mine."

"C'mon, Owain, Sortiara. Let's head to the general store, the Jarl needs space to walk to Dragonsreach, right?" I said. "It has been a pleasure, but Dragonend has business to do. Goodbye, Jarl Ulfric."

As we walked away, Ulfric asked for a moment with Owain. We obliged, and our Avon friend looked disgruntled. "What did he say?" Sortiara asked.

"Nothing. I'll tell you when there are less eyes and ears near us."

(A/N: and Dragonend's title now makes sense. So, next time: To Solitude! ~Nano)


	9. The Jarl's Request -- The Face of Chaos

Chapter 9 ~The Jarl's Request~

15th of Morning Star  
8:37 am  
Whiterun  
Owain

"Jarl Ulfric! What are you doing here?" I squawked. I was shocked to see my commander, to say the least.

"I had heard of a dragon attack, and simply wanted to see if Jarl Balgruf needed my help." He nodded to my right. "And you must be Dyce Dragonborn, the one who had slain the beast. The honor is mine."

"Owain, Sortiara, let's go. The Jarl needs his space to walk to Dragonsreach, right?" Dyce asked. A rhetorical question. "Besides, Dragonend needs to get some supplies for travelling."

"Might I have just a word with Owain here?" Ulfric said.

My friends didn't mind, and disrespecting a Jarl is no easy crime, especially since he's my commanding officer in the Stormwings as well. I stayed behind with him as Sortiara walked on ahead with Dyce. "Are you closer in succeeding with your mission, Owain?"

"I believe Dyce can be swayed into the Stormwings, but I've grown to be a close friend with him."

"And what about the mage?"

"Sortiara is just a girl we helped out, and she's returning the favor. She's part of Dragonend, same as us."

"Kill her."

"WHAT?" I screamed that just loudly enough for nearby people to hear, but not Dyce or Sortiara. "I could never kill her, Jarl. And for what reason would you have me do it?"

"She will get in the way of your mission to get the Dragonborn on our side of this war. She needs to be disposed of."

I shot an angry stare at Ulfric. The Avon ruffled his feathers. "I see you are stalwart in your opinion. However, your duty is to me, and-"

"Fuck you." I said, plain and simple. "You would have me kill an innocent mage just because you _think _she'll _get in the way?_" I turned my back on the Jarl. "When I signed up to be a Stormwing, I thought I'd be charged with more noble pursuits than murder."

"And you have, and haven't. Aren't you the one who usually slept with his assassination targets before you had slain them?" Ulfric said.

"If assassination and death is all you're using me for, then I quit." I said.

"What did you just tell me?" Ulfric's voice was laced with venom.

"I QUIT." I said, ripping off the Stormwing insignia attached to my armor and throwing it at his feet. "If murder, rape, and getting nowhere are part of the Stormwing code, then I'll have no part of it." I started to walk away, but that's when he grabbed my arm.

"If you wish to be a traitor then you will be treated as such." He said, and I saw the spark of magic in his palm. When did he learn that? I couldn't think much of it, though, as the magic-charged hand gripped my shoulder, and I felt as if my feathers were melting off. When he let go, the shoulder was disfigured in appearance only, and it looked as if a bizarre burn that never healed properly. The mark ran up to my neck as well.

"What the hell?" I asked out loud, covering up my shoulder with my tunic.

"You have been branded as a traitor, as you wished. Any Stormwing you meet, whether you knew them before or not, will attack you as if you were Imperial scum." Ulfric walked on, leaving me to brood over my new fate. I considered chasing after him and introducing him to my mace, but I knew he was far more powerful than I. Concealing my brand, I found Sortiara and Dyce standing outside the general store.

"What did he say?" Sortiara asked. I grunted with my response.

"I'll tell you later. When there are less prying eyes and ears around." She and Dyce simply shrugged in response, and we began shopping for our guild. Sortiara was the voice of reason for us, saying that a bundle of potions and healing herbs was better than a barrel of mead. She was probably right, and Dyce and I gave her power over our funds as Dragonend.

Dyce was overenthusiastic about soap. You'd think that Sweetheart would go for it, being a woman and all, but Dyce was a much bigger fan of the skin cleanser. Honestly, being an Avon had its perks- to get clean, all I had to do was fly through a cloud. Or five, it depends on who or what I had for company that evening.

Among some of the other supplies were general food supplies, rations that tasted almost as good as they looked, which was terrible. Sleeping rolls went into my bag, and Sortiara demanded that she get tents. Dyce and I were fine without, but the lady needed a place to change without prying eyes (namely mine).

We also stopped by Sumia's shop, to get Dyce's sword sharpened and more wingblades for myself. Sortiara looked around in the more decorative creations, and bought a silver-amethyst ring for herself, claiming she'll enchant it to bolster her spells. I placed the wingblades carefully between my feathers, also taking care to not show my friends my new scar.

"What next, sweetheart?" I asked Sortiara. She had become a sort of navigator as well, directing us from shop to shop.

"We should drop by Ricken. He could have information for us about the dragons." Dyce nodded in agreement, despite my protests. I really didn't want to be close to Ulfric right now, and that's where he was headed. Thankfully, it seemed he had left by the time we arrived.

"Ricken, have you deciphered anything off the Dragonstone yet?" Dyce asked as we approached the little wizard.

"Not yet…" He replied, backing away from his enchantment table. The black crystal that was there before Dyce and I left for Bleak Falls Barrow had grown a little in size, and another one grew off it. Wizards and their experiments, I guess. "I'm sorry, but I need more time than a dragon attack and one night to decipher anything."

"We understand, Ricken. We'll drop by again later on, then." He nodded, and turned to his crystal again. We were headed back out to Whiterun when the Jarl stopped us. Thankfully, one I liked.

"Dyce, Owain, and Lady Sortiara, come here for a moment." Jarl Balgruf said.

"What do you need, Jarl?" Dyce answered, as the three of us stood in front of him on his throne. He looked solemn and downtrodden as he spoke.

"The Stormwings have declared an attack on Whiterun." He said plainly. "Jarl Ulfric has returned to Windhelm to gather his forces."

"What do you need us to do?" I asked. If it could help defeat Jarl Ulfric, then I'd be glad to have a little payback.

"I ask that the three of you journey to Solitude, and ask for help from the Imperials." He looked at Dyce. "I know they still think you a felon. But please, the fate of my entire hold rests upon this- no courier dares come near, since Ulfric's declaration of war. What you are hearing is the plea of a desperate man."

Dyce turned to Sortiara and I. "What do you two think? We're a guild, however unofficial, so we decide as a group."

Sortiara replied, "Jarl Balgruf is a good friend, and a great ally. We should help him."

I muttered on, "It's a death wish for either you or I to waltz into Solitude, but I'd take a dance of death with you, friend."

Dyce faced the Jarl once more. "We will head to Solitude, then. We will deliver your message to the High Queen herself." The three of us bowed, and exited Dragonsreach. Outside of Whiterun, we found a carriage.

"Need a ride?" The man at the reins asked.

"Yeah, Solitude. Can you take us there?" I asked. I had no plans to walk or fly there- if the Imperials wanted our blood on sight, then we'd need our strength.

Sortiara handed the man fifty gold pieces, and the three of us climbed into the back. Knowing the cart driver wouldn't hear, I begun to explain to my friends what happened between Jarl Ulfric and myself earlier that morning. I showed them my scar, my brand, as well. Sortiara nearly fainted when she saw it- I guess it looked worse than I'd realized.

Dyce spoke. "He'll never get away with this. We'll make him pay, don't worry."

"He wanted you to… kill me?" Sortiara asked, still in shock.

"Yes. All because he wanted Dyce to join the Stormwings. He somehow knew you were Dragonborn before we found out, before we even met."

"And what a meeting that was, friend. But it does bring up questions- like how he knew I was Dragonborn, or how he knew I even existed. I never met him before what happened at Helgen." Dyce sat there, thinking.

I turned to Sortiara. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I would never hurt you, at least not willingly." She glared at me, only to which I responded, "What? accidents could happen. I'm just taking the precaution in case one does."

The cart ride lasted us two days. We arrived at the gates to Solitude on the morning on the third day. We disembarked from the cart, thanked the driver, and approached the doors.

"Please, kind sir! I am no variation of foul cur!" I heard. I looked up to the gates, and talking to the guards was… well, Divines be damned, it's Xenos.

"Solitude is closed to travelers for the time being. Only those on important business may enter." The guard said.

"He's with us." Dyce said. The guard looked at him firmly. "We're from Whiterun, and we have a request for Lady Erika from Jarl Balgruf."

"Do you have proof?" Dyce rummaged around in his pocket, and pulled out the small note Balgruf wrote for us to get past the Whiterun guards blocking Bleak Falls Barrow. Luckily, it was so plain and generic, the guards waved us in.

"Thank you, so very much. It's wrong for them to treat a humble bard as such." Xenos said as we walked in. He accompanied us as we walked to the Blue Palace on the edge of town, but we were stopped as we approached. A crazy Imperial man had stopped us, dressed in rags and naught much else.

"Please, you must help me!" He called out, grabbing Dyce by the arm. "My master needs help! Please!"

"What trouble is he in?" Dyce asked.

"He is trapped, trapped I tell you!" The man screamed. He ran off, beckoning for us to follow. Dyce shrugged, and we did as we were asked.

Chapter 9.5 ~ The Face of Chaos~

Dyce

The man led us to a decrepit old shack, one close to the wall of Solitude, away from the glamour of the rest of the town. Leading us inside, we found it to be mostly empty, save for a bed, a table, and a cooking pit. One shelf had various tomes on it, the titles faded.

"And this master would be..?" Owain asked. I was skeptical as well.

"Ah, Master lives somewhere else, he is trapped there!" The man rummaged around behind the bed, and pulled out what appeared to be an old hip bone. "Hold this, all of you- it takes you to Master!"

"I'm not too sure he is one we should help. We should go, and leave this poor whelp." Xenos commented. I grabbed his hand and placed it on the bone, and Sortiara did the same with Owain.

"So just how long are we supposed to-" Owain squawked in surprise, as did we all, when a force lifted us off the ground. Next thing I knew, we landed in a small, grassy field, surrounded by thick mist that blocked out the sun. The trees were leafless, and we could see ruins of some sort surrounding the clearing.

Also, we were dressed in fancy attire. The one thing more restrictive to movement than armor. The tight, starched fabric was like a prison to me. I tried to loosen it up a little, but a strange magic tightened it back up. The strange man was nowhere to be found.

"C'mon, your highness! Try the cheese!" We heard a voice say. Cautiously, I motioned for Dragonend (and Xenos) to follow me. I followed the voice into the ruins, which seemed to form a castle.

"No, just leave me to wallow in my own sadness." Another, less joyful voice said. I looked around a corner, to see one of the oddest sights I've ever seen. In the midst of all the rubble of the castle, was a table, set with a banquet fit for a king. On one side were five chairs- the one on the center was occupied. The other side had a single chair, occupied by a large man with a happy grin plastered to his face.

"Oh, come on, that's no way to act in front of our guests!" That man said, gesturing towards us. Our cover blown, We walked over to the table. "Oh, be dears and sit! You are in the presence of royalty after all."

"Royalty?" Xenos asked. "Well, I mean- ooh! Chamomile tea!" He rushed over to the far right chair, next to said teapot. He poured himself a cup, and drank eagerly. Sortiara sat next to him, and I sat on the other side of the mystery person, Owain taking the seat beside me on the left edge of the table.

"Why must you torture me so?" The man said. "Why can't you just let me rest in peace?" I got a good look at his visage. He had grayed hair that reached his shoulders, and his blue eyes were dull with age- or sickness.

"Oh, can't ye at least cheer up for our guests, your majesty?" The man stood silent. "Fine, then. I'll talk to ye later." With a wave of his hand, the man sitting next to me disappeared, as did his chair. I was left sitting next to Sortiara, at a distance that made it seem like the other man had never been there.

"Now, why are all of ye here?" the man asked us.

"Well, a man who said you were his master asked us to tell you-" Sortiara began.

"Ohh! A message! Tell me tell me tell me!"

"Well-"

"No, don't, let me guess!" He said, countering his own request. "It's a love note written in script! No, too mushy… It's a party invitation to the burning of the king's effigy! No, too commonplace… Ohh! It's a death threat, written on the back of an Argonian Concubine! Those are me favorite…"

Owain said something after swallowing the bread in his beak. "You're a madman."

The man's finger was instantly pointed at him. "Only half right, there. I'm a mad god!" He laughed heartily. "Some call me Susan McGummypants, and you may as well!"

"Err…" I muttered.

"That is, only if you want me to rip open your gut, and hang ye by your innards!" Another laugh. Sortiara held back the urge to vomit. "I'm Sheogorath, Daedric Prince of Madness, at your service." He bowed.

"I'm Dyce, this is Owain, Sortiara, and Xenos." I said, introducing us. Corrupt and evil the Daedra are, but disrespecting a god is a surefire way to die.

"A pleasure it is to meet you, indeed. Have some cheese." Sheogorath said, offering us a plate. I declined.

"Intolerant. Can't have cheese, milk, or any of the sort." I said. It was a bullshit lie- I just didn't trust cheese molded beyond recognition.

"Suit yourself. Now, I'd be imagining that your request was to help me escape, right?" It was like he read our minds.

"Yes, uhh, sir." Sortiara said.

"Well, I can't. Not without the help of you mortal folk. You see, we're in the mind of the late High King. He's dead, but his troubles are leaving him grounded here. After an unfortunate run-in with a Daedric brother of mine, I was locked inside this here head until he sorts stuff out."

"How do we get you out, Lord Sheogorath?" Owain said.

"No need to be so formal, my feathered friend. I'm not as strict as other god folk. You know, bein' mad and all." His face straightened. "Now, the only way he's going to get his head in order, is if he knows that his wifey's okay. I need you people to do that for me."

"That's all? Check in on the High Queen?" Owain asked. "We were headed to her anyway."

"Then off with you! I'm afraid his mind's acting up again." We looked up, to see thunder and lightning crackle in the sky above us. "You'd best be off." He snapped his fingers, and I blinked. Next thing I knew, I was back in that shack, with my old clothes on. The strange man from before was nowhere to be seen.

"What the hell was all that about?" Owain asked.

"Apparently, we just volunteered to assist the god of madness."

~End of Chapter~

Nano: Well, that could have gone better.

Librom: Yeah. I contain those words, and I'm probably as confused as any reader who's seeing this without checking the bottom of your profile page first!

Nano: Profile Page…?

Librom: 4th wall breaking. Pay me no mind, you twit.


	10. Silver Queen -- Early Frost

Chapter 10 ~The Silver Queen~

19th of Morning Star  
12:20 am  
Solitude  
Owain

"So, you guys are telling me you remember _nothing _of that party?" I asked my three companions. Well, Xenos wasn't there… but I was also drunk off my tail-feathers, and I didn't recognize that lovely lass's attire…

"If by 'party', you don't mean meeting up with Sheogorath, then no." Sortiara said. "Although I do feel a little sore…"

"You're just feeling a little sick, from the mad god's magic." Xenos offered as an explanation. We took that as an acceptable excuse and walked towards the Blue Palace. I looked up in a strange combination of awe and fear- they don't know I was kicked out of the Stormwings just yet, so they are still my enemies.

"Halt!" A guard said. He walked up to us, a sharp-looking spear grasped in his left hand. "Only those with official business may approach the Blue Palace."

Dyce simply handed him the note from before. "Jarl Balgruf sent us to speak with Queen Erika on his behalf."

The guard looked over the note. Well, I thought he did- it's hard to tell with the large helmet that they wear. "Very well. You may enter and approach the Queen of Skyrim."

"Thank you." Dyce said, oddly nice for him. He took the note back and we entered. The Palace was the opposite of Ulfric's one. Every inch of it was scrubbed clean, with no trace of the wear of adventurers or soldiers. It was so clean it almost made me retch.

We journeyed up a flight of stairs, to the Queen's throne room. It was rather large, and attendants lined the walls. The Queen herself sat upon the throne. Her nickname Ulfric had for her, 'The Silver Queen,' was not far off. Indeed, with her age her hair had turned into a brilliant silver color, almost as if the metal were affixed to her head.

She stared at us with cold, turquoise eyes. She had not seen happiness for many moons, it seems. Queen Erika wore robes of light blue, and the circlet on her head was silver, encrusted with sapphires. "Who are you to enter my court?" She said. Her tone was calm, but not gentle- there was no subtlety in her venom.

I stepped forward. "My name is Owain, your highness," I said, bowing. "And we are here to deliver a request from Jarl Balgruf."

She stood up, looking directly at me. "Your armor… you are Stormwing, are you not?" Her guards tensed, hands on their weapons.

"I was recently discharged for refusing to follow an order to murder an innocent." I said. "I had enough of the Stormwings. I'm no longer one of them."

The air was full of tension. If you had one, you'd probably be able to cut it with a knife. "Well, it is a shame to leave company so nice…" Xenos started, "But I must say farewell, Sortiara, Owain, and Dyce!" He ran the opposite direction, and out the front doors.

~Dyce~

Damn you to every plane of Oblivion, Xenos. For the second time in about as many weeks, I had every weapon in the immediate vicinity aimed at my face. All because you had to go and say my name. Damn you, Xenos.

"Dyce? Of Rorikstead?" Queen Erika asked. She stood up from her throne, surprisingly fast for a woman her age. Walking over to me, she continued to speak. "You are the one who destroyed Dawnstar, and the people within, and you have the audacity to walk into my castle?"

"Well, he does have the stones of a dragon…" Owain muttered, earning a slap from Sortiara. "What? He is the Dragonborn…"

Ignoring my companions, I knelt down in front of the Queen. "Lady Erika, I can assure you that I was not the one to destroy Dawnstar. Surely you haven't heard of the recent events at Whiterun?" I asked. It was taking every ounce of humility I had to do this. When I received no answer, I continued. "A dragon attacked the city, your highness. The same one who destroyed Dawnstar."

"I find this hard to believe, Dyce the Murderer. You expect me to just accept that story?" She motioned for a guard to step forward, and I felt a blade touch the back of my neck. "Your pitiful life will end here."

"MY LADY! STOP!" A voice shouted from the entryway. It was a man I'd hoped to not see again. General Tidus was panting, hunched over to catch his breath.

"General, I thought your orders were to dispose of this man," Erika said, gesturing towards myself. "It seems you had failed in your mission."

"I was going to kill them, your highness, but something changed my mind." He continued, grabbing the hand of the guard above me and removing the sword. "This man is no criminal. He and his companions had saved me from an attack by the infamous Thieves Guild. He also single-handedly destroyed an entire Draugr horde that was after our blood."

"These may be actions of heroics, General, but they do not prove the man's innocence. Stand aside, and let the execution continue." Erika said, cold malice emanating from her. I saw her glance at a painting on the wall nearby. It looked to be a young man, with bright auburn hair that was flowing in the wind. The girl with him in the portrait had long turquoise hair. Her facial features reminded me of- The Queen!

"The man's claims of dragons are also correct, my lady." Tidus continued. "I saw one attack Whiterun with my own eyes. If it wasn't for this man's bravery, the town would have been leveled. I stand as a witness to testify in this man's defense."

He grabbed my arm, and helped me to my feet. "It's the least I could do; I owe him my life. Twice over."

The Queen stared at us, then frowned. "If you stand with the enemy, then you are no longer a general of the Imperial Army. I hereby remove your rank and the privileges associated with it." She said with a blank face. "There is no proof of this besides word. And I do not believe the words of a murderer and a traitor."

"THAT'S A LOAD OF HORKER SHIT!" a loud roar echoed throughout the room. Owain was standing where it came from, a look of pure anger across his feathery face. "This man has done for the people what you have not! He had saved them, cared for them, made sure there were as little deaths as possible!" He continued his rant, small tears forming in his eyes. "He has done nothing but help those he meets. And what have you done, _Queen? _You've sat here, in your throne of gold and jewels, crying over the death of your husband- which, might I say, happened two years ago!"

Everyone was shocked at his outburst. "You must either be the greatest warrior alive, or the biggest idiot to talk to me that way." The guards near me tensed up, attention focused on the mad Avon instead of me.

"Lady, I don't claim to be either. I just can't stand it when you nobles think that you don't need to look out for the people, when that's your fucking job!" He drew his mace, left wing flared out- his right was still in a sling. "Now let him go. I don't care what your husband asked of us- I'll tear you to shreds if it means we walk away safely!"

Everyone except myself and Sortiara was surprised. The Queen stuttered. "My husband… asked something of you?" She asked.

I took this chance to calm Owain down by talking. "We met up with his spirit. He's being held captive by Sheogorath, Daedric prince of madness. He asked us to check up on you, and make sure you were safe. Since we also had a request from Jarl Balgruf, we thought we could get two things done at the same time."

"My husband… my dear Toriff…" Erika said, looking over to the painting. "I knew you were still looking after me…" she retreated to her throne, sitting down. She looked directly at me. "I know not why I believe you, Dyce. My husband has been dead for two years… but…" She motioned to her guards. "Fetch me some silver water." She said.

"Silver water?" Owain asked, now calmed down with his weapon sheathed.

Sortiara spoke up. "It's water that's been enchanted to let the spell caster see into the realms of one's mind." She said.

"Nordic, please." He asked the Imperial mage.

"It's magic that lets you read people's minds."

"Ohh, I get it." A guard appeared from a rear hallway, handling a shallow bowl. Inside the bowl I saw a wispy liquid, as if it wasn't completely there.

"Now, Dyce, step forward." She said. I had to comply in this situation, it's that or my death. "I will now look into your mind to see if your claims are true. If they are, then you are a free man. If they are not, then you die."

"Charming. I have nothing to hide, Queen Erika. Do as you please." Unfortunately, the event never happened. A fierce wind shook the castle, and we heard a roar from outside.

"Your highness!" Tidus shouted above the noise. "You wanted proof? You're about to get it!"

That's when I heard the voice. **"Dovahkiin, slayer of Sahloknir! You have been found, you and your worthless kind!" **Another roar. **"You will now face my judgment, that of Kallahmul!"**

~Chapter 10.5 Early Frost~

"Your highness, I'd suggest you stand back." I said, drawing my blade. The Bronze sword wasn't in terribly good condition. I'd have to end this fast. Owain drew his mace once more, and Sortiara lit purple flames on one of her hands. "Friends, get back."

Owain chirped. "No way, Dyce. We're Dragonend! We fight together!"

I responded, "I know. But I need to get the dragon away from the city, he's after me! I need you two to stay here and prevent the beast from hurting anyone!"

Sortiara spoke, "Good luck, Dyce." I bolted out of the castle, out into the city streets. The people were in a panic- none of them had seen a dragon before. The beast was hovering above the palace, not realizing I wasn't inside. It punched the side of the building, gouging out an area below the northern tower- the tall structure began to fall.

It flew lower, and a small explosion occurred where it was hovering, but below my line of sight. "Over here, you overgrown lizard!" I shouted, grabbing the beast's attention. Not the best of ideas.

~Sortiara~

I watched Dyce run out of the building. "Owain, stay here and help the guards protect the Queen, I'll go see what I can do!"

"Sweetheart, I can help!" He complained.

"Not with your wing like that. Let me handle this one." I winked at him, and turned around, my hair forming a sheet around me as I summoned my strength for a spell. A short-term speed enhancer. I used its power to dash out of the castle, a purple trail of aura behind me.

The dragon was hovering above the castle, and sliced into it with his claws. The northern tower fell, and I heard a scream emanating from it. Looking up, I saw a young girl, a few years younger than myself, falling through the air. She wore a dark pink cloak, and her head was mostly covered by its hood. What little hair I could see was a light blond.

"I got you!" I shouted, grabbing her with a telekinesis spell. My violet aura ensnared her, and I pulled her to safety from the rubble. I crouched low, avoiding the rocks, and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes…" she shakily said. Her voice was weak, or shy in nature- I couldn't tell which at the time.

"What's your name? I'm Sortiara."

"C-Celina…" She said, passing out. Poor girl. I called out for help, and some guards arrived in no time. Taking her away, the dragon lowered itself to me.

**"You smell of the Dovahkiin. You must travel with him. Tell me where he is, wench!" **It shouted.

"Take this!" I said. I summoned an ice bolt in my hand. Dragons breathe fire, so ice would be effective against them. Not this one, though. The bolt merely bounced off its armored, grayish-white scales. It reared back, gathering power in its jaws.

**"Fo Krah Diin!" **He shouted. I saw him launch the energy at me. It hit the ground at my feet, and the explosion knocked my skyward. My robes caught the jagged edge of the flagpoles on the castle, and I hung there. Below me, I saw a massive impact of ice.

"Over here, you overgrown lizard!" I heard. The dragon did too, and flew away. I suddenly became very aware of my right leg- it was hit by the attack, and it was encased in ice. However, I lacked the energy to move- I simply passed out, hanging from the side of the castle.

~Dyce~

"SHIT!" I screamed, running away from the dragon. It launched ice ball after ice ball at me, the attacks hitting buildings. The ice went in one side, and when it came out the other, it held the frozen forms of those it killed.

**"You run like a coward, Dovahkiin! A disgrace to your name!" **The dragon shouted. Bigger mistake. I turned completely around, and dug in my head for knowledge.

After absorbing Sahloknir's soul, I found I had learned more of those words, the ones that gave me power. Three of them fit together, the same shout he used in the battle against myself- I assumed them to be fire breath. One, though, was on its own. It's better than nothing.

"Wuld!" My shout emanated around me, forming a cone of energy. In no time at all, that energy launched me skyward, in the direction I was facing. I soared up towards the dragon, sinking my blade in its left paw.

**"Get off me, Dovahkiin!" **The dragon shouted. After listening to its voice, I figured that this was a female- though that might just be my dragon's blood acting up.

"I have a name, scaled bitch!" I shouted, flipping up onto her back. "It's Dyce Dragonborn!" I sunk the blade into her back, greeted by a roar of pain. A smile formed on my face as the familiar _Schlik _sound of my sword coming out of flesh reached my ears. I stabbed the blade back in, and pulled it out once more.

She rolled in mid-air, causing my next strike to pierce a wing. It tore a large hole in it as I fell, and the sword hit the stronger bone that encased the membrane of the wing. It snapped in two.

I fell faster, no longer attached to the dragon. "OH FU-" I started to shout, until I hit the ice made by the dragon from her earlier rampage. It acted as a cushion, surprisingly, as I slid down its mirrored surface and out onto the road. The broken parts of my blade fell near me, one a distance away, but the other dangerously close to me, sinking into the ground near my loins.

Kallahmul did not land as gracefully. She crashed into a building, and skidded through it. An Imperial man was seen inside the wreckage, and drew a blade. "This is my home, fiend! Solitude is the one place I try to keep my nose clean!"

He lurched forward in a bizarre mix of courage and stupidity. The dragon batted him aside with one paw, the nord becoming little more than a stain on Solitude's wall. **"Foolish mortal."**

The sword he was using clattered towards me. It was a double-edged blade of Nordic make, and I grasped its hilt with my hand. It was heavier than I like my weapons to be, but something was better than nothing. Behind me, I saw the Queen running from her castle. It's idiots like her who run into danger. I'll not say that to her face, though.

"Die, Kallahmul!" I shouted, using the 'wuld' shout to burst forward. The heavy blade easily sunk into her skull, cutting through flesh, bone, and brain. She shook once, then stopped moving.

"Did you just…" Erika said as she finally caught up, Owain and twenty-five soldiers around her. I swiped the blade through the air to rid it of blood, and sheathed it at my waist. The corpse of the dragon glowed gold, and another soul was ripped from its body and absorbed by myself.

"I trust that's all the proof you need?"

~End of Chapter~


	11. Justice -- Celina

Chapter 11 ~Justice~

20th of Morning Star  
8:23 am  
The Blue Palace  
Owain

I turned over in my sleep, that last few moments of it releasing its grip on my eyes. Events of last night flashed in my head- the Queen searching through Dyce's head, and proving him innocent a few minutes later. Sortiara was found stuck to the castle wall by the dragon's ice, and she was thawed pretty quickly. When she awoke, she was disappointed that she wasn't of greater help.

I stood up, realizing my lack of clothing. In the bed with me was Servant-Boy, and he was still asleep. I'll admit, a little fun to celebrate your best friend's amnesty isn't unwarranted. I found my armor nearby, and that went on after my smallclothes, as I got dressed and ready in my leather armor.

Servant-Boy rolled, and I saw him looking at me with a curious expression. I walked up to him, placing a feathery hand on his Nordic head. "Last night was one of my best," I said to him. "Maybe you'd like to sleep here more often?" I received a nod in response.

I walked towards the door, and hesitated before leaving. "Oh, and try to bring some of your friends next time, okay?" I said, winking. He blushed a little, and I closed the door on my way out. After the dragon attacked, and the silver-water, Erika had let us stay in her castle. When we delivered Jarl Balgruf's request, she agreed to send aid. We'd be leaving tomorrow with the Imperial Army, so today would be a much-deserved break.

I knocked on the door the room Dyce was given, only to find out he wasn't in there. Curious, I did see his Bag of Holding on a table, shut tight by the drawstring. Ignoring it, though, I went to the Queen's chamber. Like yesterday, she sat upon her throne. Sortiara was telling her about what we saw in the realm of Sheogorath, about her husband.

"He was distraught, your majesty. He desperately wanted to know how you were doing- his death is driving his soul mad." The purple-haired mage said. "It was saddening, really. His feelings of loss affected my own heart."

The Queen was near tears. "I want to let him know I'm okay… but I don't know how."

"We don't either. But I'm sure we'll find a way." Sortiara finished. I approached the two of them. "Owain, up so early?"

"More or less, Sweetheart." I said. "Have either of you seen Dyce? I'd like to talk to him- it's really our first day without either a blade, claw, or task above our heads."

Erika answered. "Yes, he was here earlier. He wanted to know where a small lake or stream was where he could wash the grime and gore off his clothes." She paused for a second, thinking. "I remember two of my soldiers, Hroki and Tor, telling him where one could be found. They headed south, if I remember."

"Thanks." I said. Wait a minute… where have I heard the name Hroki before? I thought for a second before I remembered. And a grim scowl ran over my face. "Sorry, but I need to fin Dyce, _Now!_" I squawked, opening a nearby window and jumping out.

I had forgotten my wing was still in that accursed sling. However, in mid-air, I ripped the bandages off. To my- and Sortiara's- surprise, my wing had healed enough for me to fly. I gracefully took to the air, almost knocking a hovering courier to the ground.

"Watch it!" He yelled, regaining his altitude with a flap of his blue wings. I ignored him as I headed south, hand on my mace. I soon came across a sight- Dyce, with two Imperial Guards. They were headed into the forest southwest of Solitude, and I landed in a branch near them.

I followed the three from the trees, careful to not get their attention. Dyce was wearing new garments, his old bloodstained ones and a bar of soap under his arm. The two guards near him were in heavy imperial plate armor, but they were laughing as they talked.

I thought I recognized on of their names, but I must have been mistaken. Dyce would never have gotten along with that guy, for what he did. The trio stopped by a lake, Dyce depositing his bundle near him. They engaged in idle chatter as my friend washed his clothes.

Dyce stood up when he finished. Laughing along with the two guards, it seemed my worries were for nothing. But then, almost instantly, Dyce did something that was sudden, unanticipated, and quick.

He had unsheathed the Nordic blade at his waist and decapitated the guard on his left in one slice.

~A few minutes earlier, Dyce~

"I'm telling you, Hroki, Solitude is a much better place than Whiterun for us to be in." Tor said as we walked in the forest.

"Why's that?" I inquired. The guards were friendly enough, and a little conversation never hurt anyone.

"No Stormwing bastards to worry about. They wouldn't dare come this far into Imperial territory." Hroki laughed. "Oh, we're here." He said then, gesturing towards a small lake. Perfect.

I set down my clothes in the water, and started to use the soap to scrub the blood out of them. "So, how long you two known each other?" I asked.

"We joined the legion together," Tor said. "We've done everything together ever since, be it fighting, resting, or fooling with a woman or two."

Hroki nodded as I pulled my clothes out of the water, satisfied. "It's been fun, especially with the girls we've met." I stood up. In a flash, my sword was in my hand as it swung to the left, and Hroki's head flew off his body, landing in the lake. The metal helm made his smiling, dead face sink into the water.

"What in the Divines' names-" I cut Tor off, slamming him to a tree nearby. My sword sunk into his fleshy gut, his lifeblood spilling out onto the ground below.

"You've both enjoyed women, huh?" I asked, driving the sword in deeper and twisting it. "What about the ones who didn't want it?"

"Wait… you… Whiterun… that whore…" Tor said weakly. "You're… killing us… because she was our enemy?" He pushed me off m, my sword making a gory _shlick _sound as it left his abdomen. Tor drew his own blade, weakly. "We did what we had to… to maintain order!"

"You didn't have to rape a woman to save Skyrim." I said, cutting off his sword arm. The Imperial that owned this sword took great care to keep it razor-sharp. "Now I, the Dragonborn, pass my judgment."

"AUGHHH!" He screamed as I sliced into his heart. The sword cut it neatly in two. I twisted my blade sideways and yanked I out, hard. Blood sprayed out of the wound, and I stepped to the side to avoid it. Normally I relish in my enemy's blood- but I didn't want blood on me that was from men as low as these two.

He fell, lifeless. It took me but a few minutes to dump both bodies in the lake. I wiped off my sword, sheathed it, and grabbed my bundle of clothes. As I turned back to Solitude, I saw an Avon flying away from the scene- pure white, with leather armor on. Owain.

Divines damn it. I ran back towards the town, trying to find him to explain. When I got there, though, he had disappeared into the crowd. I cursed out loud, heading back to the Blue Palace. I'd probably find him there.

Chapter 11.5 ~Celina~

Later that night  
The Blue Palace  
Sortiara

I started to wander the halls of the palace. It was after dinner- Owain seemed to be avoiding Dyce, unlike his earlier want to see him. I wasn't sure why, though. My mind wasn't focused on them, however- it was on the girl I had inadvertently saved, Celina.

She seemed different than a normal Imperial girl. Something about her just… radiated magicka. It was a powerful force, to be sure, and I had to find her to learn more about it. I spotted a guard in the hallway, and walked up to him. "Hello," I said. "Could you tell me where a girl named Celina could be found?"

"Celina…" He said, confused. "Oh, you mean the princess!" He said. I saved the princess? "She should be up in her tower right now- her personal chambers. But I'd rather you not enter…"

"Why not? I just want to make sure she's okay." I said.

"Well… it's down the hall, and two rights over. Can't miss it, big, white doorway with stairs behind it. But Celina doesn't like visitors to her chambers, won't even let her mother in." He shrugged. "She's about to-" He was cut off as a melody wove through the air, silencing everything else. The voice it belonged to was feminine and gentle.

"_In a silent meadow, under a cool blue sky…  
We walk together, and we both know why.  
You are shadow, I am light…  
We walk together, knowing it is right."_

"Sing, yeah…" The guard sighed as closed his eyes. "She sings every night, calming the people of Solitude. Her voice can be heard all over the city."

"It is a beautiful song," I said, at ease. The guard took no notice as I walked past him, headed for the door he had indicated. I pushed it open, and began to climb the stairs.

"_Over the windy sky, we fly together…  
Through any hardship and any weather.  
You are wind, I am of the earth,  
And together we share our mirth…"_

The singing was getting louder and louder. At last, there was a door on a small landing. It was engraved with a carving of the sun, overlooking an accurate carving of Solitude. I carefully pushed it open, quietly as to not scare the girl I knew to be inside.

"_We sail together on the oceans blue,  
We see as one, and act as two.  
You are sight, I am touch…  
Just know I miss you oh so much…"_

As she finished her song, I could only stop and stare at her. Her singing was beautiful, but it was her body that was stunning, to say the least. She turned to face me, with an audible gasp.

Before, she had on a cloak, so I only knew her eyes were blue, and she had long, pink hair. But now, I saw her in a nightdress, pure white. On her back, coming out of the dress, were two large, white Avon wings. On the Imperial-skinned girl were ears like elves, long and pointed. Above them, barely visible in her hair, were the head-spikes of Argonians, and I saw the tip of a Khajiit tail poking out of her dress.

"W-Who are you?" She squeaked out quietly. I could say the same thing. She was every species I knew of, besides Orc, crammed into one.

"I'm Sortiara…" I replied, even so. "I saved you from falling..?"

"Oh, you… Yes, I remember." She said, her voice soft and kind. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see who was singing with such a lovely voice." I said. That calmed her down a little from her frightened self, and she sat me down on the bed in the room.

"So, you were always like this?" I asked. She had explained to me that she hid her appearance with a cloak for many years, so people wouldn't call her a freak.

"Yeah…" she shied away a little. "Even my mom think I'm odd…" She said.

"I don't." I said. She looked up to me, as if to ask if I meant that. "And I mean that. You're not odd, you're unique. And I think you should be proud of it."

"Thank you…" She said. "Nobody's ever been that kind to me…"

~End of Chapter~

Nano: What. The. Fuck.

Librom: what is it now?

Nano: cold-blooded killing AND a mutant?

Librom: I never said my stories were child-friendly or normal.

Nano: …

Librom: twit.


	12. The Battle of Whiterun

Chapter 12 ~The Battle of Whiterun~

21st of Morning Star  
10:32 am  
Dragon's Bridge  
Sortiara

We had left Solitude earlier that morning, making good time with the Imperial Legion to Whiterun. The army and Dragonend had stopped at the town for a small rest, before marching through the southern roads (Bypassing Rorikstead) and going directly to Whiterun. Throughout the journey, my thoughts couldn't sway from Celina and our meeting from last night…

_ "You've always been like this?" I asked Celina. The girl, for I knew not her species anymore, looked down._

_ "Yeah," she said. "My mom says I'm special, but she makes me hide in that cloak. I think she believes I'm a freak." I placed a hand on her back, in between her wings._

_ "Well, I think you're beautiful." She looked up to me, obviously not believing me. "I mean it. I never thought I'd meet someone who's so unique, and I come from a magic school."_

_ "Even so, Sortiara," she began, "You'd be the first and only one to think like that. Look at me. I've got a tail, wings, horns… It's not natural."_

_ "It may not be for me, but it is for you." I stated. "You should be proud, that you possess all of what makes each species special. All together, you make them even more so." I paused. "But I understand if you want me to keep it a secret."_

_ "Thank you, Sortiara. I'm just… not ready to tell others about this." Celina started to cry. "I'm afraid they'll laugh at me."_

_ "Well, what about your friends?" She stared at me, her tears still crawling down her face. "You can't tell me you don't have any."_

_ "That's actually the truth…" she said. "I'm too afraid that they'll find out about my wings or my tail and make fun of me."_

_ "Well, in that case, I'll be your friend." I declared. "I promise I'll never tell anyone about you. Well, I might have to tell Owain and Dyce- they're my friends too, and I can't keep secrets from them."_

_ She thought for a second. "I'm okay with you telling those two, you are part of the same guild. Just not anyone else, okay?"_

_ "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a sweet roll in my eye." I chanted, while indeed crossing my hands over my heart, making wings with them, then placing one of them over my left eye. She was confused. "Sorry, it's just… a little chant my friends back at the college and I came up with so we'd know we'd keep a secret."_

_ She laughed. The first time I heard it. "I like it. Thank you, friend…"_

*End vision*

I told Dyce and Owain about her when we settled down in the woods just next to town- I brought them here so nobody could overhear. "So, she's like… everything at once?" Dyce asked.

"Yes. She also radiates a powerful magical aura, but I didn't mention that to her." I said. Owain stood up rather suddenly.

"That's it. Screw you, Divines!" he shouted, pointing his middle finger up to the heavens. "What?" He asked, looking down at Dyce and I's confused faces.

"What in Oblivion did you just damn the divines for?" Dyce asked. I nodded in agreement.

"If a girl has all the species' traits together in one form, combined with a strong magic… well, that's it. She's a goddess, let's all convert to Celinaism." He joked.

"You guys took this very well…" I said.

Owain responded first. "Sweetheart, nothing surprises me. When you've seen the rear of an Orc, you've seen everything."

"I've killed two dragons and absorbed their souls." Dyce stated simply. I sighed.

~Several Hours Later, Dyce~

Whiterun was in sight. The three of us had traveled with the Legion, along with the General. He was a strong, bulky Imperial man who called himself 'Commander Hurricane'. His eyes were a deep blue, but that wasn't at all his odd feature. His shoulder-length hair was dyed the colors of a rainbow, in order from left to right. When asked about it, he'd simply reply in a boisterous voice: "What's left after a hurricane hits? A Rainbow!"

…meanwhile, Owain only snickered behind his back, calling him (in his exact phrasing) "GAAAAAAAAAAY!" As if the bird wasn't any different, but I wasn't going to interrupt his fun. I've grown to like my feathered friend.

"ALRIGHT MEN," Hurricane shouted, "Whiterun is just under a mile away. I want half of you outside, forming protective lines and barricades. The other half goes in the city, as a second line of defense. Archers, get to high ground, and I want at least forty Avons in the sky at all times. AM I UNDERSTOOD?" A collective 'YES SIR!' echoed for miles.

When we approached Whiterun, we accompanied Commander Hurricane to Dragonsreach. He explained everything to Jarl Balgruf, and said he needn't worry. "Alright," the Jarl said. "I put my faith in you and your Legion."

"My men and I won't disappoint. We'll teach those Stormwing scum!" Hurricane hurried out of the hall soon after.

"We'll fight too." Owain said.

"No, you've done far enough for me already," Jarl Balgruf stated. "It would be selfish if I took your aid, after all you've done for me, without anything in return."

"It's just what we do." I said. "We don't just kill dragons; Dragonend helps any who need it, regardless of anything else."

Sortiara added on, "Yeah, we'll fight to protect Whiterun! You're the one who first accepted Dyce's innocence- that's a debt we need to repay."

Balgruf went to say something, but a small voice cut him off. "I'll fight too! Whiterun is my home!" I turned to see Ricken running towards us, spellbook in hand.

"You're far too young, Ricken. I can't let you, you'll die. Or worse- _it _would happen again." Ricken nodded, and left, downtrodden.

"What happened that was so bad?" Sortiara asked. "Did it have to do with his magic?"

"Yes. He had an outburst so potent it nearly wiped my city off the map." That surprised us. "He was attacked by-"

"MY JARL!" a guard shouted. "The Stormwings have begun their assault!"

"Then that's our cue. We'll listen to the rest of it over some mead afterwards, Jarl Balgruf." I said. As we ran out of Dragonsreach, I drew the Nordic sword from Solitude, while Owain pulled out the crossbow he stole from the Thieves' Guild. Sortiara's hands lit up with her signature purple aura.

It was hell outside. Imperial Avons could barely repel the Stormwing's ones, who were far more numerous. Owain flew up to join that combat area. Sortiara and I ran to the front gates, going through the guardhouse to the ledge above. "Hold steady, men! Don't let a single Stormwing pass!" Hurricane shouted as he oversaw the five ballistae the Imperials set up.

"AYE!" The Legion shouted, running towards the blue-garbed Stormwings. I walked up to the commander, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Sortiara and Dyce of Dragonend here. What are your orders?" I asked. I wasn't going to get in the way of any well-laid plans by the general I thought following his orders would be best.

"You're a mage, right?" He asked Sortiara. She nodded. "Then I want you with the Eastern squads, cast as many protective wards as you can, and save imperial lives. Dyce, you go with her, use that sword of yours." We jumped over the side of the balcony, Sortiara landing on my back.

"Oof! Sorry." She said. I grabbed on to her.

"Hang on." I said, followed by a shout. _"Wuld!" _the whirlwind sprint that happened bolted us across the battlefield, knocking aside some Stormwing troops. I dropped Sortiara off by the stables, as the enemy had already taken the farms outside of Whiterun.

Sortiara immediately casted a ward spell on myself, which deflected a lightning bolt that an enemy mage shot at me. He didn't stand any longer as I jumped at him, impaling him with my sword. _"Fus Ro Dah!" _I shouted, knocking away five Stormwings into their allies.

"The Thu'um! He wields the Thu'um!" An imperial soldier shouted, which seemed to rally our forces. We fought with renewed vigor. I personally sliced to my left, cutting down a soldier while kicking with my right leg, stunning a second. His decapitation also blocked a strike from a third, whose dead body fell off my blade three seconds later onto an injured Stormwing.

Sortiara fired the occasional attack spell, incinerating, freezing, and/or electrocuting anything hostile close to her. She focused on healing wounds and casting wards, protecting most of our men from enemy mages. I could only wonder how Owain is doing…

"WOOOOOHOOOOO!" I heard. Looking up, I saw the very same Avon dive-bombing Stormwing forces with his mace. His crossbow hung from his belt, smashed and unusable. "Yeah, take that!" He screamed, fending off another Avon.

"Owain!" I shouted. He flew over and landed next to me, on top of a Stormwing who was about to attack.

"What's up?" He asked, parrying a blow from a two-handed sword. He chucked a wingblade into the adversary's neck, and he fell, drowning in his own blood.

"Just wanted to make sure they haven't roasted you yet." I replied, impaling the heart of another enemy. They had surrounded us, but we didn't mind the extra effort. They just kept coming.

"Hang on!" Owain shouted, grabbing me from under my arms. He lifted me into the air as he flapped his wings, and the two soldiers who were about to hit me hit each other instead. "Can you shout?"

"Yeah, drop me!" I replied. He did so, and I rushed towards the ground at great speed. _"Yol Tor Shul!" _I shouted, a wave of fire emanating from my maw and decimating the ground forces.

_"Fus Ro Dah!" _I heard. And felt. The wave of energy hit me like a boulder, sending me flying into Imperial forces. I got up, and looked in the direction of the shout. It was Jarl Ulfric Stormwing himself, clad in light plate armor made of glass. It was stylized to be blue instead of green, and his helm resembled a bear's head. He held an ebony longsword in one hand, the other bare. His dark gray-feathered wings were flared out for combat, a wingblade of ebony seen between each feather.

"ULFRIC!" I heard, and looked above me to see Owain flying down at him, mace in hand. My friend stopped in midair, and fell to his knees in an instant- two of Ulfric's wingblades impaled his stomach. Enraged, I ran forward, taking a hit from a wingblade to slash at Ulfric.

"So, the Dragonborn fights for the Imperials. Why?" He asked as our blades were pressed against one another.

"They didn't want to kill Sortiara, or kill and rape countless others!" I pressed harder, forcing Ulfric back.

"But what about the Imperials? They would have had you executed if it wasn't for my men!"

"Owain, the one who saved me, was one you deemed a traitor!" I shouted. "_He _saved my life, not you!" I kicked with my right leg, landing a hit on his gut. He reeled back, and I stabbed my sword into his armpit, relishing the sound and feel of rent flesh. Red blood flowed out of the new wound when I pulled back, getting ready to fight again.

As if things couldn't get worse, they did. Ulfric jumped back and ran to a healer, but I couldn't get to him. I was knocked to the ground when a giant beast landed in front of me, covered in green scales.

**"Greetings, Dovahkiin." **The dragon said. **"It is an honor to meet one as strong in Thu'um as you are."**

"Does that mean you won't kill me?" I asked.

**"Not a chance." **He snapped his jaws forwards, and I barely escaped his jaws. Ulfric ran up to me, obviously using the dragon's intervention as cover for his own blows.

"Die, Dragonborn!" He screamed, until he was batted aside by the dragon's tail. He flew towards the wall of Whiterun, and slammed into it.

**"Do not interfere in the matters of Dovah, puny mortal." **I lunged into the beast, sinking my sword into a thick, scaly leg. Its blood ran dark, almost black. Suddenly, it sprayed outward as an attack, knocking me down on my back.

**"You will die by my claws, Dovahkiin." **He raised a paw up, ready to kill me- but never got the chance. Ulfric ran in, sword sunk in the dragon's neck.

"You shouldn't have intervened in _mortal _affairs, dragon!" He shouted. _"Krii Lun Aus!" _Ulfric shouted. From my limited knowledge of the dragon language, I was able to translate the words in my head. They meant 'kill-leech-suffer', or in plain Nordic, "Marked for Death."

The dragon bellowed out in rage and pain. A purple flame engulfed him as he took flight. Horror reached my eyes as I saw a large drop of something land in front of me. It was liquefied flesh and scales. That fire, caused by Ulfric's shout, was literally melting the dragon's skin off of it!

The dragon didn't make it far before it slammed into the wall of Whiterun, creating a sizeable gap the Imperials immediately tried to defend. I ran up to the dragon. Around it was a puddle of its own molten flesh, and his eye that faced me looked at me in desperation before melting as well.

It was a horror I would not wish upon any enemy. To have one's flesh melted, muscle liquefied, nothing but bones after a slow and agonizing death… this wasn't just inhumane, it was unholy. If the Thu'um can do this…

The dragon's soul exited its form, flowing into the nearest container for such things- me. All that was left of the nameless dragon's body was a pile of bones, still smoldering with purple flame. Ulfric was nowhere to be found, and I saw a trail of blood leaving the fight. He apparently wasted enough energy fighting me and using shouts, so he fled.

I myself had used too many shouts. I fell forwards in exhaustion, resting next to the abomination of melted dragon. My eyes closed on their own accord, and I fell into sleep.

~Sortiara, near Dragonsreach~

The blasted rebels had pushed us back to the gates of the Jarl's palace. Owain and Dyce were nowhere to be found, so it was up to me and the Imperials to keep them back. We were having difficulty, however. One soldier fell next to me, and I shot a firebolt at the one who killed him. I was running low on magicka- I don't know how much longer I could keep this up.

A crossbow bolt hit my shoulder. The pain was terrible, as I lost feeling in the left arm it hit. I was about to counter-cast a spell, when the soldier was flung into the air rather suddenly by a black crystal that rose from the ground. **"Nobody hurts my city and friends." **A cold voice said behind us.

I turned, only to see Ricken. His eyes glowed red, and his hands were out in front of him. A flick of his wrist sent another crystal pillar out, impaling three Stormwing soldiers. An Avon took to the skies, afraid and fleeing.

**"Where are you going?!" **Ricken shouted, his voice booming with terror. A black crystal rose out of the ground at his feet, leveling him with the fleeing Avon. A smaller one flew from his hand, knocking the bird out of the sky.

Ricken jumped down, holding a crystal in his hand. **"Hear me and tremble! I am the ultimate mage! I am Gr-" **He was cut off when Jarl Balgruf hit the back of his neck sharply, knocking him out. The Stormwings had fled.

"This, my dear mage," He said to me as he walked back to Dragonsreach, Ricken slung over his shoulder, "Is why I was afraid to let him fight." Confused by his actions and words, I still landed myself on a bench, glad that we had won the fight.

~One hour later, Dyce~

I woke up. Simple as that. The fighting had stopped, and any bodies in the field not dressed as a Stormwing were recovered. I wandered inside the city, trying to find a recognizable face. That face was Sortiara, as she sat in a bench, looking down.

"Hey, Sortiara," I said, sitting next to her.

"Is it the same with you?" She asked. I tilted my head to the side. "When you kill people, I mean…"

A tough question. "Well, Sortiara, when I fight, I put all inhibitions behind me. Only my allies keep me from falling into insanity, but that doesn't mean I'm proud of it." I sighed. "I regret killing most of the lives I did today, and wished I could have saved others. But in my mind, I know they couldn't have been saved. I grieve for the dead on both sides."

Sortiara looked at me. "I killed tonight, Dyce." She stared directly into my eyes. "But… I felt nothing. I still don't. Their lives were meaningless to me, and I killed so easily… it's just not like me…"

"Why do you think that's so?" I asked.

"Well… after being with you, and Owain, I've realized something. The world we live in isn't some fairytale paradise- people die. Everyone and everything dies at one point. So… why feel remorse for those who have?"

"Well…" I wasn't sure how to answer that. Nor would I have. In the corner of my eye, a Stormwing corpse started to move. It shot out wingblades at us as we sat. Quick on the draw, I blocked the ones aimed for us with my sword, followed by throwing it into the half-dead Avon's skull.

"See… Dyce...?" I heard behind me. I turned, and Sortiara was standing. She had two wingblades lodged in her, one in her stomach, the other higher up, near her heart. "Everyone… Dies…" She fell forwards, and I caught her.

"No, Sortiara, not you!" I cried. "OPEN YOUR EYES, DAMN IT!" when she didn't, I yelled towards the nearest guard, "GET HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!" I wasn't going to lose Sortiara.

I cared too much for her. But I was doubting my strength as medics came and grabbed her from my arms, casting spell after spell on her while carrying her to Dragonsreach.

~End of Chapter~


	13. My Sanctuary

Chapter 13 ~My Sanctuary~

23rd of Morning Star  
10:37 pm  
Dragonsreach  
Dyce

"NO, you can't go see her." A guard said. "She's in critical condition- anyone other than the mages there is sure to just get in the way."

"I'm the fucking Dragonborn and her friend! Let me through!" I said.

"I don't care if you're the Emperor of Tamriel. I'm under strict orders to let nobody pass." I was tempted to draw my blade, but a hand appeared on my shoulder.

"Easy, Dyce. Sortiara's in no condition for you to barge in there." Owain said. I exhaled slowly.

"Fine." I walked over to a table in the main room of Dragonsreach. Many guards, mages, and Legion members were drinking, celebrating their victory. I had none of the same feelings. Sortiara, Ricken, and countless others were put in beds in a wing of Dragonsreach, which served as a makeshift infirmary for now. I grabbed a mug of mead and took a long draught from it.

Owain sat across from me. "She'll be fine. I took similar wounds and survived, right?" Indeed he had. But neither of the wingblades that struck him landed near his heart.

"Sortiara's lungs or heart, or both were hit. Yours were not." I replied. I took another long drink from the Juniper-Berry mead. It did nothing to calm me. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Owain looked at me, with the most serious face I've ever seen on him. "I know. But some of the best healers in Skyrim are here, I'm sure she'll be-"

"DAMN IT! STOP TALKING ABOUT IT!" I shouted, grabbing the attention of everyone in the hall. "I PROMISED TO PROTECT HER! AND I FAILED! I FAILED!" I screamed in Owain's face, rage starting to take over.

"Dyce, calm down. It wasn't your fault." He said calmly. He looked sincere, but I was too blinded by my emotions to notice.

"I was right there, Owain! Right fucking there! And she still got hit. She could be dead because I didn't keep my promise!" I slammed my mug on the table, its contents spilling out over the floor. "I failed her."

"Dyce, look at me." Owain said. I did so. "She's in there because a Stormwing got lucky. Not because you broke a promise. I'd bet-" I did something rash. I leaned over to his side of the table and smashed my fist into his cheek. He fell back onto the floor, and I jumped over the table.

"You don't know what happened! You weren't there, stop talking like you were!" Owain launched himself up, kicking me in the face as he took flight. He landed behind me, and grabbed my neck, choking me.

"Calm down! I wasn't, okay. But I've been in this situation before, Dyce. I'm a man of war- I know what loss is." He said. I relaxed a little, and he let go. "Just sit and wait and pray. It's all we can do now."

I continued standing. My emotions ran through me like an inferno, and I lost control. "SORTIARA!" I shouted her name as I ran into the infirmary, knocking aside the guards.

~Sortiara, five minutes earlier~

_ I was walking away from Solitude with Dyce and Owain. We were at the back of the Legion, headed for Whiterun. "Hey, Sweetheart," Owain asked me. "Have you been in a big battle before?"_

_ I shook my head. "No, I haven't." He and Dyce shared uneasy glances. "Why are you asking?"_

_ "I don't think you should be in the fight." Dyce said. _

_ "Why, because I'm inexperienced? I can hold my own."_

_ "No, Sweetheart, it's because…" Owain stumbled for a second with his words. "We don't want you to see the madness it is. It could scar you."_

_ "I've seen death before. The Thieves' Guild, The Draugr, and the countless people frozen to death in Solitude by that dragon."_

_ "That's what we meant. You haven't been in any _real _battles." Dyce said. "The Thieves' Guild was trying to kill us, and they were barely human. The Draugr were already dead, and you never saw any of those frozen people before they died."_

_ Owain added on, "Innocent people will die in this battle, Sortiara. We don't want you to see that." He was talking seriously._

_ "I will fight." I said. The two of them stopped. "How can I call myself a member of Dragonend if I don't fight alongside my guild? Besides, you two have fought countless times and all you suffered were scars."_

_ Dyce placed his hand on my shoulder, and told Owain to inform Hurricane we'd be lagging behind. As the Avon walked away, he spoke to me. "Sortiara, do you think I care about my scars?" he lifted up a sleeve of his shirt, revealing a small, circular scar on his shoulder. "I got this one because I was careless, and stood in the way of a crossbow bolt. This one-" he pointed to one on his ankle, "Was from when I dropped a lump of hot iron on myself while working in my family's forge."_

_ "You remember each incident?"_

_ "Yes, even though I don't want to. Scars show how many times you've been wounded, Sortiara. Not only physically, but in your mind as well." He walked forwards, leaving me to follow. I had no idea what he meant by that…_

That's when I opened my eyes. I was assaulted by a white light, emanating from a Candlelight spell. When my vision came, I saw myself in an infirmary bed, with a mage looking over me. "Decided to wake up at last, huh?" He asked.

"How long… was I out..?" I asked weakly.

"Two days. We were starting to think you went and died on us." He reached to the side, and put a small cup in my hand. "Drink that, it's medicine that will help with the wound."

I brought the cup to my lips, and drank the brownish liquid in it. It tasted like skeever dung, but I knew it to be effective- I had to make the same brew for the Archmage once. I tried to sit up, and managed to do so after feeling a large amount of pain from my bandaged chest. I leaned against the headboard, looking around.

"Where's Dyce and Owain?" I asked.

"You mean the Dragonborn and the Stormwing-turned-Legion?" My caretaker asked. "They're in the main hall. Should be drinking right about now, if I'm not mistaken."

"SORTIARA!" I heard.

"…Or I could have been more wrong than my brother when he stumbled upon a hagraven nest." I saw Dyce appear in the doorway of the infirmary, six- no, seven- guards struggling to block him.

"Let me in! I need to see her!" he was yelling. I waved a hand out slowly and shakily. I caught his attention, and I mouthed the words, 'I'm okay.' He calmed down a bit, and was led away by the guards, tears in his eyes.

"That was rather easy." My caretaker said. I simply nodded.

About two hours later, they declared I could walk around Dragonsreach for a bit. It felt good to stretch my legs, but I wasn't allowed into the main area where everyone was- they didn't want me to get in the middle of a fight or anything.

~Dyce, two hours later~

Knowing Sortiara was alright calmed my nerves. I drank with the others, celebrating not the victory of Whiterun, but of the survival of a friend. Later on, I excused myself from the commotion- Owain was getting a little too close to the Jarl's Housecarl, and I didn't want to see what would happen next.

In the room Balgruf gave to me to stay in, I picked up a towel. Balgruf told me he had a sauna in his palace- might as well check it out. A little rest in a steam-bath didn't hurt anyone. My skin was filthy as well- I needed it. I followed the twists and turns of the hall, until I finally found it. I cracked open the door, but was surprised.

"Umm… it's occupied…" I heard a voice say. It was Sortiara.

"Sortiara? It's me, Dyce." I responded, closing the door. "I didn't know you were in here- I'll wait."

"No…" I heard. "It's alright- you can come in." I shrugged, and did so. The steam inside the room was thick, and I closed the door behind me. I soon found Sortiara in the fog, and she wore a towel wrapped around herself, as did I.

"I'm glad you're alright." I said, sitting next to her. "I was really worried."

"I could tell. You caused a commotion earlier when you tried to barge into the infirmary." She laughed a little.

"How do you feel?" I asked. "I mean, both physically, and mentally."

She thought for a second. "Well, my body doesn't feel too bad. Just a little weak, and sore." She tugged at the towel around her chest, lowering it a little. I could see a long, thin scar sliced clean across her, right above her chest. It looked fine, but the silver gleam of the scar tissue was unsettling. "I also know what you meant."

"About what?" I asked.

"About your scars. When you said that they wound you in your mind… I can replay what happened to me over and over again, in my mind. It's so fresh in my head…" She placed a hand on her forehead.

I nodded. "I understand, Sortiara. I know what it's like. I mean-" I stopped when I noticed.

Sortiara was crying. "I also now realize just how many people I killed, Dyce. What I said before, well, I was lying to myself to keep the pain away. But, now that it's over… Their screams, their cries… I can't get them out of my head…"

I embraced her. A tender gesture, one that I meant with all my soul. "Sortiara, you'll be alright." I said. "Everything will be fine. They died, yes, but it was you or them."

She sniffed. "But… what if it was me? What if it was me making those horrid sounds of death..?"

"Then I would have lost someone dear to me, Sortiara." I said. She looked up to me, from our embrace. "I made you a promise to protect you, Sortiara. I plan on keeping it."

She clung to me, and I her, for a while longer. The minutes dragged by as we hugged, me letting her vent her emotions to someone who'd care. "Thank you…" she said. "For everything."

I thought about her. She had found solace in me, the so-called murderer of Dawnstar. I still had killed many, but Sortiara trusted me more than anything. She found refuge in my sanctuary of kindness for her. I vowed to myself to do anything in my power to keep her happy.

"Dyce," I heard her say after what seemed like hours.

"Yes, Sortiara?"

"I want to go home."

~The Throat of the World~

**"I have seen this Dragonborn." **A voice, tough, male, and booming said.

"What would you do, master?" A man said. He was in a black robe, and a long, gray beard hung out o his hood.

**"Summon him. I want to know of his potential myself." **The first voice said.

"I shall." The man replied, turning and heading back down the mountain.

~End of Chapter~

Nano: Whew! Another chapter.

Librom: Yes. Now, about my payment…

Nano: what?

Librom: for my services in giving you these stories, I require payment.

Nano: fine. What do you want?

Librom: …Rub my spine.

Nano: what? Why?

Librom: …

Nano: …fine.


	14. Parting

Chapter 14 ~Parting~

26th of Morning Star  
3:45 pm  
Winterhold  
Sortiara

Dyce and Owain were surprised by my request the morning after I was released from the infirmary. I wanted to go home. All this action, the battle, the dragons, the near-death experiences… I wanted to stop for a bit. However, they had agreed it was time for a break, and decided to accompany me to the College.

"I'm curious as to where you grew up, myself." Dyce said. "It's much different from Rorikstead, I presume."

"Dyce," Owain said, "This is a _school. _How can it not be different?"

"And just what is so bad about a school?" I asked in response. We were stopped just before the gates that led to the main hall of the college.

"It's a place of learning… and boring stuff. None of the girls at a school are even remotely 'active' either- they just want to study, and be their boring selves, unable to actually do anything to please a man and-" I cut him off there. Not with words, but with actions. I cast a stoneflesh spell on my right leg, and swung.

I glanced to the side after my foot made contact with him, and saw Dyce wincing in pain as Owain became the proud (and sterile) owner of two smashed testicles. "MY FUTURE CHILDREN ARE CRYING OUT IN PAIN!" he shouted, falling to the ground immediately.

"Sortiara… that might have been a little too extreme…" Dyce said, helping a crying bird to his feet.

"He insulted my school and the girls who attend it. Who, need I remind him, _includes me._" I sternly said, walking ahead of the two. The spell was released as my foot stepped into the cold snow.

"Remind me not to piss her off…" Dyce muttered, barely audible to me. Owain muffled a sentence, but was unable to say anything past the pain of a blunt vasectomy. I silently laughed to myself.

"Who approaches the College?" A guard said. She was dressed in a light plate mail, steel to be exact. She stood in the middle of the lone bridge to the college, and I walked up to her calmly.

"I'm Sortiara, student of Archmage Cornello. I'm returning from my extracurricular assignment with two guests." She looked me up and over, and did the same for Dyce and Owain.

"Very well, you may enter. Light the braziers on your way up; it's about due for them anyway." I nodded as the three of us hurried past. As we reached the top of a ramp, I ignited my right palm with a blue flame. Transferring some of it to the large pile of firewood inside, I lit the first flame leading to the college.

"Pretty." Owain said, regaining his composure. He walked slightly wide-legged, but was otherwise fine. I lit the second flame as the three of us crossed a decaying bridge that led to the final brazier. When that was lit, the gates in front of us groaned outward in welcome, and we headed into the main courtyard.

Recently, someone in the school had the idea of a large shield spell of sorts. It wasn't to prevent anything from entering the college; rather, it was meant to control the weather. Inside the main courtyard, there was no snow, and small flowers bloomed in grass that was covered by ice for who knows how long.

"I take it back. School can be interesting." Owain said. I saw what he was looking at- two students engaged in a practice duel. One of them must be a freshman- I haven't seen his messy brown hair before. The other was Morgan, as his curly pink hair was unmistakable.

Morgan dodged a small plasma bolt from the younger sorcerer, and responded with his own magic. His personal spells were, well… different from most. Every mage has his or her own personal magicka, and as such, can cast it in ways others can't. Mine, for example, was my levitation spells- as far as I know, I'm the only mage who can do that.

Morgan, on the other hand… His love of celebration and parties caused his magicka to do the same. An explosion of confetti left his hand, with enough force to launch the freshman mage across the courtyard and into the girl's lavatories. Several seconds and screams later, the mage emerged terrified, and retreated to his dorm.

"You didn't have to go that far, Morgan." Another familiar voice said. It was Kellam, and he deactivated his invisibility spell as he approached him.

"Hey, he looked like he could use a little fun in his life~" Morgan half-sang. "I'll throw him an apology party later, then." He added on, noticing Kellam's unhappy look.

"Hey guys!" I shouted, waving my arm in the air as I ran towards them. The two of them ran up to me in disbelief, and Morgan hug-tackled me to the ground.

"SortiaraI'msogladtoseeyouit'sbeentoolongsinceyoul eftandKellamandIweregettingworriedandwemissedyouan dIhavetothrowyouawelcomehomepartyand-" He said without stopping. I pressed a hand to his mouth.

"Nice to see you too, Morgan." I jokingly said. We stood up, and Kellam was the first to see my companions. "Oh, Morgan, Kellam, these are my new friends, Dyce and Owain." I said. I wasn't expecting the reactions I got.

"Uhh… Sortiara…" Morgan said, trembling slightly. He was so scared, his hair fell flat from its normal curly bounce, and actually seemed a darker shade. "Aren't they… you know…" The words had a hard time forming out of his mouth.

"Did I do something wrong?" Dyce asked.

"Do I smell bad?" Owain added on, sniffing his armpit.

Kellam finished Morgan's stuttering. "Aren't they wanted criminals for, I don't know, destroying Dawnstar?" He asked.

Crap, I forgot about that detail. "They've been granted amnesty by High Queen Erika… They're innocent, and would never hurt anyone without being in self-defense." Or at least, I thought so. I couldn't be too sure.

"I'm curious as to why they're here, not who they are," A voice said. I turned around to meet the voice's owner, only to see a man with short, violet hair and a long, flowing robe with a shield emblazoned on the back. "And I also want to know why they are travelling with my little girl."

"Daddy!" I recognized him as my father, and I hugged him tight. "I missed you so much…"

"I know. Your mother and I missed you too. Now, let's get you and your friends inside. The Archmage would want to see you as soon as possible." My dad said, leading Dragonend inside. Kellam was dragged off by a now bushy-haired Morgan, who chatted about something involving a 'welcome-to-the-college-please-don't-kill-us' party for Dyce and Owain.

"Ah, Sortiara. I was expecting your return sometime soon." Cornello said as we entered his chambers. I quickly moved up to his desk, and bowed slightly.

"I've returned from my extracurricular assignment, sir." I said, reaching into my bag and pulling out a short essay. "Here are my findings."

Owain looked at my work in shock. "Sweetheart, when did you get the time to write all of that?" he asked.

"When I was in Dragonsreach's infirmary. It's only thirty-three and a half pages, Owain." I smiled.

Dyce looked at it as Cornello flipped through it. "Owain," He whispered, "It's double-sided." The Avon's beak dropped a little, but I chuckled.

"All is well, Sortiara. As for your new… friends, well… you said they were granted amnesty, were they not?" Cornell asked, sneaking a glance at Dyce and Owain.

"They were proven to be innocent, sir." I responded.

"Then I hereby grant them permission to stay here- for the time being. I trust you'll resume your studies?" Cornello seemed relieved.

"For now, sir. I will."

~Meanwhile, in Riften~

"…of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear. Sweet mother, sweet mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be… oh, you're here…" A voice said. He looked up from the effigies he had made, to see a figure in blood-red robes approaching.

"What is the contract?" The figure said.

"I have two, sir…" The kneeling figure stated. "Two people who have given me great grief over time. The first is a man known as Ketith, he's a teacher at the College of Winterhold."

"And the other?" The man in the robes said.

"High Queen Erika herself." The first figure stood up, and hefted a bag of gold. "I'm sure this is more than enough for the two jobs?"

"Indeed. Leave the gold- a representative of the Brotherhood will come by to pick it up in three days' time. So begins an oath bound in blood."

As he walked out, the first figure added, "And I'm not as picky as your other clients. If someone gets in the way, _kill them too_."

~The College of Winterhold, several hours later~

I was surprised on how quickly Morgan was able to set this up. He was known for spontaneous celebrations, but to decorate the entire great hall in a measly three hours… that took skill. He even hired a group of bards to assist in the music- including a certain Khajiit I know well.

The welcome-home party was a blast, and I danced around with my old friends from the College. Soon, Xenos stood up from a chair he performed from. "Guests who are here now since noon, we shall now play a slower tune." A chorus of 'ooh's' filled the air. "Grab someone you don't mind at all, and enjoy yourselves as our merry notes fall."

I walked over to Dyce. I offered him a hand, and he took it graciously. Together we danced, spinning our way across the floor of the Great Hall. Owain had grabbed Morgan, and the two of them were in a crazed frenzy, dancing to their own beat off to the side.

"I enjoyed this time, Sortiara." Dyce said, leaning his head onto my shoulder. "Being with you… It's the best time I've ever had in my life."

"Same with me, Dyce…" I responded, the two of us slowing our dance. "I wouldn't trade it for anything."

As the song ended, a messenger rushed into the hall. "Excuse me, are you Dyce Dragonborn?" He asked the man in question.

"Yeah, what do you need from me?" Dyce responded, still dancing with me.

"You've been summoned to High Hrothgar, to see the Graybeards. I wouldn't keep them delayed." The courtier then scurried off.

I looked up to him. "You're going, aren't you?"

"Well, one doesn't simply ignore a summons from the Greybeards. I have to go." He responded.

"At least share one more dance with me…" And he did. As did the next one. After Xenos and the other bards packed up, he accompanied me to my dorm. I sat on the side of my bed, as did Dyce. Owain had traveled with Morgan to his, swapping stories of pranks.

"Sortiara, I…" He started. "I'll miss you."

"Same here… you'll write, right?" I asked.

"As often as I can." With that, he leaned towards me, grabbing me in a hug. His lips met mine, and for a few moments, I felt lost in bliss. When we separated, I nodded to him, and he left my room. Exhausted and happy, I fell onto my bed sheets and fell asleep.

I never would have thought that such a perfect moment would be the last one I had.


End file.
